


My Eternity

by LuanRina



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, BL - meaning Boys Love meaning Slash meaning Male x Male, Cross Yuuki/Kuran Kaname - brief and pretty one-sided starting from some point though, Drama, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, KaZe as in Kaname x Zero, Kiryuu Ichiru/Kiryuu Zero - Freeform, Lemons and explicit content later on in the story, M/M, Romance, Slow Build, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2018-10-29 21:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 225,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10862640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuanRina/pseuds/LuanRina
Summary: AU. Everything was supposed to go according to his plans, but a single night's tragic events and their consequences changed it all... Kaname/Zero





	1. Soundless Bells

**Author's Note:**

> **My Eternity**
> 
> A Vampire Knight Fan Fiction
> 
> **Disclaimer:** Obviously not mine. Those who have read my other VK story already know what I'd have done if it did belong to me XD So here I'm just playing around with our dear boys and my twisted imagination, and am so damn enjoying it!
> 
> **Pairings:** Kaname/Zero (eventually), Ichiru/Zero (yes, people, exactly in that order because I prefer it that way) and possibly some tiny bits of Kaname/Yuuki (very slight and rare though, as you know I hate it)
> 
> **Warnings:** AU. Yaoi, means boys love means male x male; some OOC-ness, but I'll still try to reduce it to minimum; a bit (or not a bit) of twincest, mature situations, gore at some points, lots of angst, dark themes and etc. The story is rated M for a reason. Don't like – don't read. Also I'm really sorry for all grammar and other mistakes; I'll try my hardest to reduce them to minimum, but English is obviously not my native language.
> 
> _**A/N:** This is the same story that has been on FF for ages, but I've recently gotten used to Archive at long last, so since I visit this site even more frequently than FF now, I decided to post this story of mine here as well. Have another one (my very first precious one) on FF as well as a few more on my laptop, but this particular one is currently my main focus, so I want to get close to finishing it first before getting really distracted and pulled into any of my others ones._

A quiet creak sounded as a door to the dark room was pushed slightly ajar, allowing a small figure to half-step in. Amethyst orbs of Kiryuu Zero peered into the darkness, immediately landing on a lump on the bed not too far. Closing the door quietly, he moved forward, but faltered after a few steps, uncertainty suddenly creeping into his being.

He didn't even know why he was here. His legs brought him in this room on their own accord. But he doubted he should stay – he _couldn't_ stay, not after what he had unintentionally heard a few minutes ago. Because his brother would know. Ichiru would see, he would feel that something was wrong with him and it wouldn't take him long to pinpoint the reason behind it. He was always good at that, he always read him like an open book, so that most of the time Zero didn't even need to say anything if he didn't want to. Because Ichiru was too good at seeing right through him – unlike his older brother, who couldn't even put on a decent show of pretense for the sake of his own twin.

Of course he would understand this time around too, and it would only upset him yet again, which was definitely the last thing Zero ever wanted to do to his other half. He knew what would happen perfectly well, on subconscious level, yet he had come. It had been stupid of him to do so, but he hadn't really thought about anything, as he had been too shaken then. He still was, but not as badly.

Nevertheless, the need to see and feel his twin nearby for his own peace of mind never ceased. After all, how could he just go to sleep like nothing happened, having heard all those things…?

Carefully, and as soundlessly as he could, the boy closed the distance between him and the bed and heaved a quiet sigh of relief. A faint smile tugged at Zero's lips as his gaze fell on his brother's sleeping face. He slowly sat down on the edge of the mattress, his hand going to caress his twin's identically silver hair tenderly, so as not to wake the other up. Unconsciously, Ichiru leaned into the touch, making Zero's smile widen a little.

He went on with his actions for another couple of minutes and was already going to get up and head to his own room when his wrist was suddenly grabbed and pulled at quite persistently, catching Zero by surprise and making him let out a small startled yelp as he stumbled forward and fell down onto the mattress. The next second a familiar pair of arms wrapped around his form, their grip surprisingly strong for their owner's weak body and fragile health, but not restricting or uncomfortable in the slightest. So the boy didn't resist and had no trouble relaxing into the embrace. He only sighed silently, looking at his twin somewhat reproachfully. Still, no sound of protest came from him.

Only half-opening his eyes to regard the other with a smug smirk playing on his lips, Ichiru snuggled in closer to Zero – the older twin automatically reaching out to also enfold his replica in his arms. The younger boy sighed contentedly, closing his eyes.

"I thought you were sleeping..." Zero whispered, frowning slightly in worry, "Did I wake you up?"

Ichiru hummed in lazy content as his brother's fingers brushed a few silver strands from his forehead and the side of his face, his hand taking a hold of Zero's slowly retreating one to place it on his cheek and lean into the comforting warmth. His voice sounded a little hoarse as he replied to his twin's inquiry, "I was waiting for you. Couldn't sleep without Zero around."

The older Kiryuu's frown deepened in obvious concern. Gently, he removed his hand from under Ichiru's and put it on the other's forehead, feeling for the fever. Ichiru opened his eyes at that, a faint, rueful smile tugging at his lips as he caught a sight of his brother's troubled, anguished expression.

The older boy moved to sit up, but his twin seized his arm again, stopping him in mid-motion. Zero looked at Ichiru, an unspoken question in his lavender orbs, and the latter responded.

"It'll get better now. Because Zero is here with me."

"But-"

"Don't worry about me," Ichiru gave another pull to get Zero back into his previous position next to him, and his brother complied, like he always did, "It'll pass. Just stay here with me."

"…" As if he could _not_ worry about him. Ichiru was his everything, his other, better half…

Nevertheless, he granted the other's wish and lay down wordlessly. Still, it was obvious from his expression that Zero was far from having his concerns dismissed, and Ichiru could see it more than clearly. He hated this look on his twin's face. So, giving a soft sigh, he pushed himself up and turned towards the bedside table, then reached for a glass of water and pills that were there. After taking the medicine, he took his place near Zero, once again grasping his twin's hand and nestling closer to him.

"Happy now?" The younger boy asked, his tone light and even a bit teasing.

Another slight frown that looked suspiciously like a pout appeared on Zero's face for a fraction of a second as he nodded silently, evidently pleased with his brother's actions, "Wasn't that hard, now was it?"

"Just hate that stupid thing. Makes me feel too drowsy."

"But it does help, right?"

It was the younger Kiryuu's turn to nod, however reluctantly, "Still hate it though."

"Ichiru…" he tried to make his voice sound scolding, but failed, unable to drive affection out of it. His twin only let out a short laugh in response, tightening his hold on him, "I know, I know..."

"Good…" Zero breathed out, closing his eyes with a deep sigh and clutching at his other half's shirt involuntarily. He moved a little closer to the younger boy yet again, sleep already beginning to take over his senses when Ichiru's quiet voice pulled him out of that pleasant state in-between. He didn't quite catch the other's words however, so he had to ask his replica to repeat what he had just said.

"I asked what happened to make you so upset," Ichiru answered.

"I'm not u-", Zero started to protest when his twin resumed speaking, thus successfully stopping him, "I know you are. I can feel it. You can't fool me, remember?"

He averted his gaze and gave a slight nod. Of course he couldn't. Ichiru always knew, as he knew _him_ too well. Still, he didn't want to talk about it, didn't even want to relieve those words in his mind, let alone saying them out loud.

"It's nothing." And yet he couldn't look his brother in the eye.

 _'…I see...'_ Ichiru thought, his eyes visibly hardened as he tightened his arms around Zero. He had guessed by now what it was about. Again. These occurrences had become more and more frequent lately. And he hated it. He loathed it when his twin got like that. He despised _them_ for doing this to Zero, to them both.

"It doesn't matter, you know," he finally responded, drawing the older Kiryuu's attention anew. "It's okay…I don't need them." A small, genuine smile spread across his features as his amethyst orbs locked with a pair of identical – but still so unlike his own – ones. He reached out to rest his palm on his counterpart's smooth cheek, continuing, "Everything will be okay…so long as I have Zero by my side. Others don't matter, even if it's them."

The older boy remained silent at that, he just didn't have it in his heart to even try to defend their parents and to persuade Ichiru otherwise. Because with time, he himself began to gradually doubt that he was right in his views. And his brother's words didn't really seem so…cold and sometimes cruel anymore. In spite of the fact that they did disturb him at times. Although he could hardly blame Ichiru for them, or anything at that. After all, he was the only one at fault.

"Hey, Zero-nii…" The younger one resumed speaking, successfully tearing his twin out of his not so optimistic thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You love me, don't you?" Ichiru paused, his hand going to take Zero's. He gripped it tightly, their fingers intertwining, before unconsciously bringing it to his chest, "More than anyone else, more than mom and dad…right?"

Zero's brows furrowed slightly at that sudden question. Briefly, he wondered where it had come from.

He didn't get to ponder on that for too long though, as barely noticeable – but still there – urgency and faintest anxiety in the other's tone compelled him to respond promptly. Which he did, his head automatically moving to nod almost instantly after he had comprehended his twin's inquiry.

At once, a radiant, if only a little tired, smile spread over Ichiru's face. It was needless for him to say that he felt the same. Zero felt warmth spread inside him at that sight. He loved it when his precious brother was so genuinely happy, when he had on his features such a beautiful smile that reached even his usually guarded eyes. He couldn't help responding in the same manner – his lips curved faintly without him noticing.

The younger boy's next words, however, destroyed all the tender emotions he had previously experienced, leaving nothing but unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling behind. It settled in the pit of his stomach and sent small shivers up his spine. It was…new…and incomprehensibly frightening.

"Then," Ichiru's smile was still there, and even started to widen a little, but his eyes said otherwise, as they were suddenly filled with anguish, "It'll be better if they just disappear…"

**-o-**

Burgundy orbs looked outside the window as their owner noticed a small movement there from the corner of his vision. His small, slender fingers paused in turning a page of the book he had been reading as he took in the view, somewhat mesmerized.

It was snowing. Thousands of white flakes descended gracefully from the pitch-black sky and onto the ground that was already covered with cold, colorless blanket. The night was peaceful. Yet there was something in it…something menacing about it. Although he didn't know what exactly. And frankly, didn't really care to fathom the reason for it, despite knowing that it wasn't just his imagination, as humans tended to dismiss such things when experiencing them. A pureblood's senses never failed – it was a fact. But he was obviously not in the mood tonight – for anything whatsoever.

His attention stayed there for another few seconds before Kaname returned to reading his book, unknowingly letting out a soft sigh. It was yet another boring, silence-filled night. Lonely and uneventful, with him stuck in this large manor with dozens of servants and still no one to talk to. The only exception was Takuma, but his friend had yet to return from the trip with his grandfather. So the young pureblood didn't have any company this evening too, as he had expected. Not that he wasn't used to it by now.

But at least his 'guardian', the older Ichijou wasn't anywhere near him. And that alone was enough to lighten his mood a little.

He never liked the old vampire, or this house that belonged to him at that. The only good thing about it was the man's grandson, who was so different from his only relative, or any vampire Kaname knew. He didn't even want to imagine how much more unbearable and gloomier it would have been here without his dear friend's presence. It really made the days that he spent in this place much easier to bear with. Although, obviously, it was hardly enough to once again make him feel…happy and at home, he guessed. As this place was too cold and unwelcoming, at least for him. Besides, there was only one being that could ever provide him with joy and genuine warmth that this house and its occupants so lacked of.

A gentle, tiniest of smiles flickered across the pureblood's face as his memory provided him with images of his dear girl's smiling, beautiful face along with the sound of her melodious, infectious laughter. It had been such a long while since he had last seen her it felt like years, even though he knew no more than a couple of months had passed since his previous visit. But he had been longing desperately all these days to meet with her again, to feel her in his arms, to hear her wonderful voice, to look into her big, shining brown eyes, to just… _be_ near her, even if for a short amount of time. However, he knew too well that he wasn't allowed to indulge himself in it. It was too risky. He didn't need to attract unwanted attention – and that would surely happen if he wasn't careful with his every move.

No matter how hard and unbearable it was.

He missed their past, when she had been who she had been supposed to be and they hadn't had to be separated. When their parents had been alive and with them, when their family had been happy and not torn apart with him being the only one to know the bitter truth and remember everything that had happened that fateful night. While Yuuki, his light, his beloved sister had no recollections of her old life and her original, true self whatsoever. And in this new reality, he was to her nothing more than a stranger. One who had saved her life once, but a stranger nonetheless.

It was painful. It hurt more than Kaname cared to admit, and it made him feel alone and dejected, to be forgotten like that by the person he cared for the most, by the only one left for him in this world.

Nevertheless, he agreed to take it, he didn't mind bearing with this continuous torment if it meant that she would be safe and far from this dark, treacherous realm he existed in.

And he would carry on that way until he was certain that no harm could be done to her. Until he destroyed _that man_ …

And Kaname would allow nothing and no one to interfere with his plans.

_Or so he believed, foolishly thinking that everything in this game of chess of his would simply go according to his plans…_

**-o-**

"Ichiru…" Zero heard himself breathe out, still not quite out of his daze. His heart gave a violent lurch as he saw the familiar form of his twin in the distance, coming his way, and with his mind completely blank from shocked relief that washed over him, the silver-haired boy rushed to his brother. "Ichiru!"

The other seemed to notice him after his name was called, he looked up and met Zero's gaze, a warm smile immediately making its way on his slightly flushed from cold winter weather face. Still, the older Kiryuu's distress hardly eased, his rapid pulse never slowed down and his state of panic refused to pass. He had never been so scared in his life.

Of course, Ichiru saw it too clearly. His arms already reached out to draw his other half in a reassuring hug meant to set Zero's troubled mind at rest. Enigmatically, it worked – simple as this gesture was. The corners of his lips curved further as he noted how Zero's tense form visibly relaxed. But his brother's voice still sounded a little shaky when he pulled back and spoke, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere."

Instinctively, Zero's hand went to feel Ichiru's cheek before moving to his forehead. A frown of concern marred his features as he realize his twin was running a mild fever. Which wasn't such a huge surprise, considering how long Ichiru must have spent outside today. Yet another reason for him to want to kick _that bastard's_ ass.

It was all Kaito's fault. Because of his being his mean, insufferable self to Ichiru again – Zero was certain his guess was right despite the fact that he hadn't been present at the scene at the time. But what else could he think when he had returned to the clearing where his twin, together with the older hunter, were supposed to be, only to find the former missing and the latter standing there calmly with smug smirk plastered on his annoying face. Zero was not an idiot and could put two and two together, so it wasn't too hard to understand what must have happened. Also because it wasn't the first time either.

He hated that dumbass for deliberately doing that to Ichiru – and Zero _knew_ he behaved like that with him on purpose. As if their parents and other people weren't enough already…

"We have to go back," the older twin said, not waiting for his counterpart to answer his previous question. He was too worried to think about it, "It's getting late."

"I'm fine, Zero-nii…" Ichiru spoke, his tone soothing. He didn't resist when his brother took his hand and tugged him after himself though. He only complied with the other's wish and moved forward with him. "Never felt better, in fact."

Zero felt his hand being squeezed briefly, and his gaze involuntarily turned to Ichiru. To which the younger boy only responded with another smile, but this one looked somewhat enigmatic, and all it did was cause Zero slight…unease…and apprehension, somewhere deep inside. For a fleeting moment, he thought he sensed something, some strange… _vibe_ ,coming from the one next to him. For some reason, his twin felt subtly different, or so it seemed for a fraction of a second.

But Zero dismissed it without second thought, assuming that it was just his imagination.

**-o-**

"The 'Madly Blooming Princess'?" Kaname asked, genuinely surprised by his friend's unexpected question. "Why the sudden interest in her, Takuma?"

"No, it's just…I've overheard something on my way here. Grandfather was talking about her with one of the Council members," he paused, closing the book he had stopped reading a while ago, distracted by his musings. It was unusual, to say the least, to see the blond noble, always so cheerful and happy, so serious.

"They said she escaped from her prison."

**-o-**

It was this feeling again. The one he had experienced several times before, in the past, distant, distant past. Even the memory of it was a blur.

But lately, he had been getting it more frequently. As though _something_ was there, something malevolent, slowly approaching and watching his every move. For the last few days or so, this impending sense of danger had been following him persistently, refusing to leave.

Zero turned his gaze to the window absent-mindedly.

He thought he had heard something. Some kind of jingling. But as he listened attentively, trying to catch it again, there was no noise. Only snow falling and sometimes hitting the glass surface of the window, and wind disturbing the quiet night.

 _'It was nothing,'_ he tried to convince himself. But the doubt in his lavender orbs was still present even as they landed on the form of his twin sleeping peacefully next to him. Carefully, his fingers went to brush away a few silver strands of hair from Ichiru's closed eyes. _'Nothing…'_

**-o-**

"What was she like?" Takuma asked with open curiosity, his emerald eyes twinkling with unconcealed interest. Kaname couldn't help chuckling at his dear friend's childish behavior. Childish for him, that is. As for vampires their age it was... Well, still acceptable, he guessed. His amusement passed, however, as he recalled his first and only encounter with the 'Madly Blooming Princess', Hiou Shizuka.

"She was…" he paused for a couple of seconds, struggling to find the right words, "…sad."

The blond blinked confusedly, "'Sad'?"

The young pureblood nodded pensively, "Very beautiful, but sad and lonely. It was hard to be near her, she made me feel…so much sorrow…"

Takuma's usual cheerfulness was gone, his expression darkened, "Do you think she really was mad?"

Kaname took a few moments to answer, his mind easily reviving the events of that night many years ago, "I doubt it. I didn't sense anything indicating her insanity back then." If anything, she had seemed like an ordinary pureblood vampire. Kaname could never comprehend the reason for her imprisonment. However…

"But who knows… She may be now." It wouldn't be surprising, especially after one being locked up for such a long period of time.

"I wonder where she is," Takuma whispered, turning to look at the obviously worsening snowstorm outside.

Kaname inclined his head in a slight nod, not offering any verbal response.

An uncomfortable, tight feeling suddenly welled up inside him. As if something grave was going to happen and change everything, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it or even escape the consequences.

**-o-**

"Kaname-sama!" Yuuki exclaimed, surprise and happiness evident in her cheerful voice. At once, the brunet's lips curved into a gentle smile, his eyes softening as he gazed at his dear girl with pure adoration. Her slender arms encircled his waist in a warm, tender embrace that made his heart melt of delight and filled it with joy. He returned the hug before letting the smaller form pull away and patting the girl's auburn head affectionately.

"Yuuki…" Kaname's tone was unusually sweet as he spoke, never averting his attention from his precious princess, "How have you been? It has been a while since my last visit, hasn't it?" His hand went to stroke one of the girl's cheeks slowly, his smile widening almost imperceptibly when the younger brunet leaned into his touch.

"It has," she sighed out, "I missed you, Kaname-sama. Why did you stop coming here so suddenly?" Her own smile faltered, a frown of concern marring her delicate features. The pureblood felt a small tug at his heart, guilt making itself known as he understood that he was the cause for the expression that currently resided on his beloved's face.

"I am sorry, I was unable to find the opportunity to pay you a visit sooner, my dear Yuuki…" Kaname replied softly, pausing in his movements to cup the cheek he had been caressing just a moment ago. "But I promise I will try to spend more time with you from now onwards."

"Really?" Yuuki's excitement was apparent not only in her voice, but also in her eyes and aura. It made warmth spread in the older brunet's chest.

Kaname responded with a nod, and the girl gave him another hug, emitting a small sound of delight.

Having closed the door, Yuuki then led him into the living room, pulling him by the hand while chatting away about the events that had happened during his long absence from her life. He listened carefully, happy to hear about her daily routines and even most insignificant occurrences. But after a short while, one thing struck him as odd, and he couldn't help wondering in the back of his mind.

Yuuki's guardian and former vampire hunter, Cross Kaien, was nowhere in sight. Which was more than strange, as the eccentric man always greeted his guests and, frankly, he could hardly ever remain quiet enough to go unnoticed, even for a minute. He was a walking disaster in every sense of the word – in both good and bad ways too. His presence alone was difficult to ignore if he was anywhere in the vicinity. And now that Kaname thought about it and actually paid attention… He couldn't sense it. The presence, he meant.

So he voiced out the question that had been bothering him for some time now, to which Yuuki answered without hesitation.

"He went out a while ago, saying that an urgent business suddenly came up," she said, pensive, probably recalling those moments. "I think it was something very important. He looked upset."

"I see…" Kaname replied absent-mindedly, silently wondering what could have happened to make Cross leave his precious Yuuki all alone, and at such a late time as well. He certainly did not appreciate it, regardless of the reason for the older male's actions. He doubted there could be a reasonable excuse for putting his dear girl into this potentially dangerous situation. Anything could happen in the ex-hunter's absence. What if it wasn't Kaname who had come? What if he hadn't come at all? What if Yuuki went outside for some reason and, God forbid, got lost? What if…

The possibilities were endless. And Kaname's brilliant mind went through all of them in seconds.

He was definitely interested in hearing Cross's side of the story. Although he was more than sure that it wouldn't change his opinion on the matter.

But for now, he would rather enjoy his sweet Yuuki's company and blissfully forget about everything else. Which he did, and quite successfully, even if not for as long as he would have liked.

Soon enough it was nearing midnight, and in spite of the fact that it was long past Yuuki's bedtime, the pureblood didn't have the heart to refuse her pleas of letting her stay up for a bit longer. So they remained sitting in the living room, now watching the girl's favorite shows on television, with Yuuki still chattering happily and sometimes making comments about the events unfolding on the screen. Kaname didn't give much heed to any of it, less than concerned with the fictional characters' lives – he simply took pleasure in being there, in the company of his most precious person, basking in her wonderful, comforting presence.

But all of a sudden, he froze. For a brief instant, _something_ caused him to freeze. He had no idea what it was, but for some reason, his head turned in the direction of the entrance – or where he knew it was supposed to be as he couldn't see it from the room he was currently in – on its own accord. His gaze didn't stay there for long, as after only a couple of seconds, somewhat stiffly, the pureblood returned it to his dear girl, who was completely oblivious to his momentary distraction.

His unease refused to cease.

And then, he _felt_ it. Literally moments before his sensitive hearing detected the sound of the lock on the front door turn.

It was only when that same door was being pushed open that Yuuki noticed that someone was there, and, naturally assuming that it was Cross, she leapt from the couch and ran into the hallway, obviously heading for the source of the noise. And Kaname was thankful for that. Because there was no way he could allow her to see him like _that_.

Taking a deep breath, the pureblood closed his eyes and willed his raging instincts to calm down. There was no doubt that his normally garnet orbs were red with bloodlust now, his fangs were almost fully aroused and his pulse and respiratory rate became irregular. His trembling fingers tightened around the soft material of the cushion he was sitting on. He barely managed to stop his nails from transforming into sharp talons ready to tear into first source of blood on his way.

Never once in his life had he been so hungry. And so _terrified_ of himself before.

And worst of all, he had no clue what was the cause, except for the obvious one, of course. But that alone wasn't enough to affect him _this_ much. What on the earth…

Abruptly, Kaname was pulled out of his reverie as a shocked gasp sounded, and he immediately recognized it as Yuuki's. Worried, the pureblood wasted no time in leaving the room and hurrying to the girl's side – it took him a mere instant to reach his destination. Spotting the familiar head of brown locks straight away, Kaname parted his lips to inquire what was the matter, but no words came out of his mouth as his focus involuntarily shifted ahead of the form he was currently approaching at fast pace. He was speechless as he took in probably the most devastating and beautiful sight he had ever had the chance to behold.

 _The extent to which a vampire's nature was twisted was inconceivable,_ flashed through Kaname's mind fleetingly. He couldn't believe he was actually fascinated by this image in front of him. So much so that he couldn't tear his eyes off of it.

Motionless, two forms stood silently before the brunets, with the third one held tightly yet gently in Cross Kaien's arms.

Two silver-haired boys. Absolutely identical – twins, clearly. Both covered in blood. Sweet, enticing blood. _Hunter_ blood _._ But he couldn't discern whether it was their own or one Cross was carrying was unconscious while the other was standing next to the ex-hunter, his small pale hand holding the much larger one loosely, his bloodshot lavender eyes staring at nothing in particular.

It was no wonder he felt so perturbed earlier. Any vampire would react that way at having so many hunters nearby. Cross was one thing, as Kaname was used to his aura by now, but these two...

He tensed abruptly. His vampire senses tingling ever so slightly in response to something other than hunter presence.

Something...didn't feel right…

One of _them_ didn't feel right. Like he was…

The pureblood's eyes widened ever so slightly in startling realization.

He looked at Cross, and the ex-hunter's solemn – so unusual for him – expression only confirmed his suspicions. Without uttering a word, the man moved forward, gently tugging the twin that was holding his hand along with him down the hall.

As Kaname watched them go, he felt that tightening in his chest again.

Little did he know that it was only the beginning...and the end of everything.


	2. Traces of Caramel

 

Waking up, he felt like it had been forever since he had last had his eyes opened. His body was heavy and his mind was a jumbled mess. It was safe to say that he was highly disoriented and had no clue what had happened to him, or where he was at that. But all that didn't hold the slightest significance in his eyes, especially when he took in the sight in front of him.

He was used to waking up to his brother's sleeping face. Somehow it always happened so that he was the first to wake up in the morning. And so it became a part of his daily routine to lie alongside his twin and watch him sleep silently, taking in every small feature of the face that was the very reflection of his own. It was fascinating, really. It never failed to bring peace to his mind. And it was... beautiful. Not to please his vanity – he had none of it anyway, due to many factors in his life – but simply because it was the truth. Very often he actually forgot that they were physically identical. To him they were absolutely different, though inseparable and, in his opinion, an organic whole.

This time, however, instead of calming and reassuring him, all that the sight of his counterpart did was make his heart lurch painfully from worry and anxiety, which later was joined by guilt, as realization dawned on him soon enough. And at that moment he hated himself more than ever.

Instinctively, his hand – the one that was free, as the other was held tightly by his sleeping reflection – reached for his brother, and he pulled the warm body closer to himself, letting out a soft shaky sigh and feeling the slight sting of unwanted tears in his eyes, his heart beating painfully and at accelerated speed in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Carefully, his hand went to caress the soft cheek of his twin, his fingers working to gently brush away the dried tear trails on the slightly reddened skin. He loathed seeing his other half sad, let alone witnessing his tears, especially when he knew that he was the one to blame for them. And for everything...

His actions seemed to disturb the other's sleep, as his brother stirred, and soon he was staring into the pair of lilac hues he knew and adored, and again, a sharp pang of guilt reminded of itself when he saw how puffy they were, obviously from crying.

"Ichiru...?"

He didn't miss how hoarse his twin's voice sounded. Again, his heart gave a lurch.

A sad, small smile made its way on his face, "Hey..."

He didn't expect to be pulled into a tight embrace, which resulted in him being rolled onto his back from the sudden movement with the older boy on top of him. He heard Zero take a deep shaky breath before his voice sounded again, a little trembling, "Ichiru..." he let out a choked sob, "You're awake, finally, you're awake..."

 _''Finally'?'_ So he wasn't imagining things thinking that he had been asleep for quite a while, or at least for longer than normal.

Zero pulled back and sat up to inspect his brother closely, his hand already on Ichiru's forehead to feel his temperature – an action done purely out of habit, "How are you feeling?" His slightly knitted in worried concentration brows relaxed, relief apparent on his face. Ichiru guessed it was because he wasn't running a fever for once.

"A little weird..." he didn't really know how to describe it, "But fine. How long have I been asleep?" He tried to sit up and, surprisingly, had no trouble with doing it. And then he finally took notice of their unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we?" Ichiru asked, looking around, a faint frown marring his features briefly.

"Four days," Ichiru's eyes widened at the answer Zero gave to his first question, "And we're at uncle Cross's house."

"'Cross'? You mean that crazy old man master Yagari introduced us to a few years back?" He was a little disturbed now, "The one with the camera?"

The older Kiryuu nodded silently before speaking again, "It looks like he will be taking care of us now, as our guardian."

"I see..." Not that he cared. But the fact that they were here and not at home meant that...

"Zero-nii..." Ichiru broke the short-lived silence that had fallen over the room. "I'm sorry, for making you worry and..." he paused, his gaze dropping from his brother's eyes. It was hard to look into them for some reason, "And..."

 _'For them'_ was left unsaid, but Ichiru had no doubt that his twin understood. That he understood and _knew_ everything. Including the fact that Ichiru didn't regret what he had done and was remorseful and seeking forgiveness only for the pain he had caused his brother.

Zero didn't respond right away. And the silence stretched, making Ichiru nervous, before his anxiety turned to outright fear. He fiddled with the blankets feebly and disinterestedly, unable to lift his gaze and growing more apprehensive with each passing second. To the point where he forgot how to breathe and his heart beat wildly in his chest, this close from jumping out of it.

And it took only one hesitant touch to end it.

Involuntarily, Ichiru gave a small start when all of a sudden, he felt familiar warmth on his skin. Slender fingers touched his hand gingerly before taking a hold of it loosely. Then they gave a gentle squeeze, and he reciprocated immediately without thinking. Sharply, his gaze shot up to lock with that of his brother.

Zero didn't say anything, he just kept looking at his counterpart wordlessly. It continued for some time, then the older boy's eyes lowered, and he tightened his hold on Ichiru's hand.

The younger Kiryuu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

A barely noticeable smile tugged at his lips.

**-o-**

The clatter of dishes and some other strange sounds that came from the kitchen, as he reasonably presumed, could probably be heard even from outside the house – it was that loud. And annoying. Ichiru had no idea how Zero could actually continue sleeping with all this noise. But he guessed it just showed how tired his twin was. Because of _him_. So he was glad that Zero wasn't bothered by all those sounds. Not yet, at least. But it gave him all the more reason to want to kill the clumsy idiot that was disturbing the pleasant silence of the early morning.

Ichiru heaved a long sigh. Reluctantly, he pulled away from his brother, taking in his features one last time and carefully removing his hand from the older boy's hold. He pushed himself up and got off the bed as quietly as he could – pointless as it was, considering all the noise; Ichiru almost felt stupid for doing it. Nevertheless, he tiptoed out of the room and closed the door gently after himself, then headed in the direction the clattering was coming from, and it wasn't long before he arrived at his destination. And as expected, it was indeed kitchen. With the 'clumsy idiot' in it. Now why wasn't he surprised?

The blond man hadn't changed in the slightest – his appearance was the same as it had been the last time Ichiru saw him. And as he observed... It looked like the same could be said about his behavior as well.

"Ah, Zero-kun, y-..." Cross started when he turned and noticed him standing in the doorway, but faltered, a puzzled expression, followed by a surprised one, flit across his face, before it was replaced with a wide smile anew, "My bad, you're Ichiru-kun, right?"

The boy gave a slight nod, which was responded with further widening of the already broad smile.

"You had us really worried, especially your brother. He really loves you, Ichiru-kun."

Another nod, but now with a smile of his own, although it was almost imperceptible. The softening of his features, however, was hard to miss, and Cross immediately took notice of it. He couldn't help but think it endearing how close the two boys were.

"Zero-kun is still asleep, I presume?"

The third inclination of his head, and then Ichiru spoke for the first time since coming into the room, "He's tired."

"I see," the older man replied quietly, a somewhat sad look crossing his face, "We'll let him rest then, it's been a hard few days for him." _'He was worried sick, he never left your side,'_ the ex-hunter added inwardly.

Ichiru couldn't agree more.

Then suddenly, something seemed to click in the blond male, and his demeanor changed abruptly. His behavior was now closer to the one the silver-haired boy was more familiar with – sickeningly cheerful and annoyingly happy. Even his voice sounded a little different when he spoke next, "I'm almost done making breakfast. Why don't you go wash up while I set the table?"

Was it any wonder that Ichiru deemed him crazy?

Deciding not to argue and honestly wanting to be anywhere but near that excuse for an adult, the younger Kiryuu simply asked for directions and, having received them, left the kitchen, now heading to the bathroom. It didn't take him long to get there.

He was washing his face when, suddenly, there came a sharp gasp of surprise somewhere from the side. Ichiru lifted his head from his hands and turned in the direction the sound had originated from. He was met with the sight of a small girl, probably his age or so, with big brown eyes and tousled – apparently she had just woken up – auburn hair almost reaching her waist. She stared at him with a somewhat shocked expression on her face, looking a bit nervous, with a faint blush evident on her cheeks. Ichiru wondered at that strange reaction.

"Z-Zero-kun," she stuttered, her voice small and uncertain, "g-good morning... I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was here..." And yet she stayed where she was, not leaving. Ichiru looked on at her silently, not really bothered that she had mistaken him for his brother. It wasn't uncommon, especially for those who didn't know them that well.

The girl lowered her gaze uncomfortably, fidgeting slightly. Her voice was even quieter when she spoke next, Ichiru had to strain his ears to catch her words, "H-how are you? How is your brother...?"

"...I'm not Zero," the silver-haired boy said simply, turning back to the porcelain sink calmly to resume what he had been doing before the interruption.

"Eh?" He heard the brunet. "You're not... I... um..." Having finished, he reached for the towel and wiped the beads of water off his face and hands with it.

"Ichiru...kun?" He still didn't turn to face the girl even as she called his name, he only nodded wordlessly.

"I-...I'm so sorry! I didn't-"

"It's okay. I'm used to it." They both were. "It's not a big deal."

Finally turning to her, he noticed how her face was a few shades darker than previously. Why though, he had no idea. Not that he was really interested.

"And you are...?"

His question seemed to startle her a little. Head jerking up sharply, her eyes stayed on him for a couple of seconds before returning to the floor as though it was the most interesting thing to look at. She fumbled with the hem of her pajama shirt, stuttering out the answer to his inquiry, "I'm... Yuuki. It- it's nice to meet you, Ichiru-kun." Gazing up at him, she gave him a small, if a bit nervous smile, to which he didn't respond much other than nodding briefly and mumbling, "Yeah, you too."

Nothing else was said after that, as Ichiru left the room and made his way back to the kitchen, leaving Yuuki to her own devices.

**-o-**

A few more days had passed by rather quickly, calm and uneventful really. Which, in Ichiru's opinion, wasn't so bad. The only thing that had caused them – or him at the very least – some worries was Cross and his antics. Which mostly pertained to his cooking, but that, thankfully, was soon dealt with, as they – more so Zero than Ichiru – took on that task, basically banning the blond wonder from the kitchen.

It happened sometime on the second night after Ichiru regained consciousness. Unusually, Zero woke up earlier than him. The younger Kiryuu panicked – needlessly and rather stupidly, he knew, but it was an uncontrollable reaction – when he found his brother's side of the bed empty, so he got up and went to look for his counterpart. Which wasn't such a difficult task. And soon he was standing in the kitchen with his twin, helping him cook pancakes, and then waffles that Ichiru requested himself.

It wasn't even early morning yet, so the younger boy was worried at first, not quite understanding the reason for Zero's sudden urge to make something to eat – other than being hungry, of course, as none of them had touched the food Cross had cooked for them; it was scary to even look at, let alone put it in their mouths. But if that was the case, his brother would have cooked something much earlier. And the amounts were too excessive as well. So Ichiru voiced out his thoughts and asked the question that had been nagging at him.

To which Zero replied that he just couldn't sleep and was a little hungry.

Well, nothing surprising there. The cause for the latter was more than obvious and as for the former, considering their recently slightly altered sleep patterns, it was to be expected. So Ichiru dropped the matter and joined his twin eagerly.

They got a little carried away, so by the time they finished, it was already morning, and minutes later Cross and his daughter – looking evenly disheveled – came, both still not quite awake, but well up because of the mouthwatering aromas wafting through the house. Either of them seemed to be only half-conscious throughout the whole meal, but they wolfed down almost everything nevertheless. Zero and Ichiru could only look on in wonder, stunned. The pair must have bottomless pits for stomachs, the twins inwardly came to logical conclusion later. They had never thought that someone as lean as Cross and as tiny as Yuuki could actually consume so much food.

But maybe it wasn't so astonishing, taking into account the fact that it was probably the first time they ever had a proper and actually tasty meal in their lives. With Cross's extraordinary 'talent' for cooking... The silver-haired boys couldn't help wondering how the father and daughter were still alive. It was death either by food poisoning, or by starvation in their case.

Thinking that, Ichiru couldn't help giving the blond man a disapproving look. What kind of an adult was he when two ten-year-olds cooked better than him? With the said man having a kid to tend to. The younger Kiryuu actually felt a little sorry for the girl. Although...

He guessed he couldn't really judge the blond only by that aspect. After all, it didn't seem like Yuuki was unhappy or anything. Quite the contrary, actually, so...

Ah well. It didn't concern him.

That aside and back to the matter, ever since then Cross was officially prohibited from tampering with kitchenware, so any preparation of food was off limits for him. Which in turn ensured their safety and well-being, at least to some extent. The man pulled a small childish stunt on them, predictably, but didn't protest much and conceded in the end, all the while sulking like a kid for further effect. There was a sneaking suspicion in Ichiru's mind though, that the ex-hunter himself didn't really mind such turn of events.

So here they were again, only it was dinner this time, and they weren't alone but with Yuuki, who had gotten curious and had asked them to 'let her in'. They had, and as it turned out, the girl was just as much of a disaster as her father. So Zero gave her the easiest tasks that didn't include getting close to anything sharp, hot, boiling or frying, which she eagerly accepted, nearly jumping from excitement for some reason.

Ichiru didn't mind, she didn't bother him much. Even though sometimes he did think that they – she and Zero – got too friendly for his liking.

But it was okay. It was nothing.

After all, he would always remain the closest person to Zero. He knew it, and he would make sure of it...

**-o-**

"He is dangerous," Kaname's voice sounded, smooth and quiet, which indicated how clearly unhappy he was, "It is only a matter of time before he gets consumed by the bloodlust and falls to the Level E. You know that as well as I do."

"Yes." A faint, sad smile was on the blond man's face, he was sitting behind his desk, his warm honey-colored eyes regarding the troubled-looking pureblood calmly, "Yes, I do."

"Then why?" The brunet's hands curled into fists at his sides. It was probably the only thing that showed his anger, as on the surface he stayed calm and composed. "Why did you still brought him here, knowing the risk?"

"There is no risk, Kaname-kun."

"There is, for Yuuki. I don't want her anywhere near him."

"I see...Then," his gaze hardened, "what do you suggest, if I may ask? Surely you're not telling me to dispose of them?"

"…There should be other options. You're not the only person who can take care of them, I'm certa-"

"Kaname," Cross interrupted him, uncharacteristically. His tone hard, cold. The lack of honorifics attached to his name also didn't escape the brunet vampire, he knew the man's usual cheerfulness was gone, he was more than serious. "It's not up to you to decide. And I never wanted anyone's opinion on that matter, I have already made my choice. And I will not change my mind, not even for you, or Yuuki."

"You aren't concerned for Yuuki's safety then?" His voice got even quieter, he could feel his blood was starting to boil by now. He couldn't believe the blond man.

"You know it's not true. And it's not about her, or her safety."

"…"

"Kaname..." Cross heaved a deep sigh, his tense expression relaxing a bit, "You have to understand... Not everything is always about Yuuki." He raised his palm when the pureblood opened his mouth to retort, successfully stopping him, "Don't get me wrong. I care for her dearly. I love her as my own daughter. And you too are precious to me, you know that." He paused, daring the brunet to speak, but Kaname remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "But I care for Zero-kun and Ichiru-kun just as much. Those boys are the beloved sons of my dear friends who are no longer in this world. They're the only thing left of them. Just like you... You and..." _'Yuuki...'_

"You are right, there _are_ alternatives. But I am the best option. And I want them here, I want to provide them with family they have lost," the blond's expression softened, a small sad smile returning, "Is it really so wrong...?"

Kaname felt his heart give an uncomfortable lurch. He lowered his gaze, sighing resignedly, "No... Of course it's not. But," he looked up at the older man again, unable to give up yet. He didn't get to voice his arguments though, as Cross spoke first.

"It will be alright, Kaname-kun. They are not a threat to Yuuki, I assure you."

" _They_ may be not, but one of them _is_."

"He is not, trust me. He is just a child. They both are." The blond's smile turned fond, his voice lightened, "And they already get along well. Yuuki likes them. I'm sure you will too."

Kaname refrained from answering to that last statement, choosing to ignore it.

"I should go... It's late."

"It is, indeed." He gave the brunet a fond look, "I'm sorry you didn't get to see Yuuki." It was an eventful day, all three had been tired and had gone to their respective beds earlier than usual.

"It's alright, I understand. I will see myself out."

Cross nodded gently, "Till your next visit then."

The pureblood gave a polite bow. Then turned and headed for the door, and left the room quietly.

Kaname walked down the dark hallway soundlessly, deep in thought, when a soft patting of bare feet on wooden floor caught his attention. He lifted his gaze, his eyes clearing as he concentrated on the small sounds unwittingly. Out of curiosity, he headed for the source of it, and soon found himself approaching the kitchen. The brunet frowned slightly, surprised to see that the lights were off even though he could hear someone was shuffling around the room. Then a few seconds later it got quiet again.

Having reached his destination, the pureblood stood in the doorway, his eyes immediately finding the only occupant of the dark room. It was one of the hunter twins. The boy was sitting on a chair, staring out the window unblinkingly with a mug in his small pale hands. Kaname sniffed the air unconsciously, mentally humming at the pleasant scent. It was caramel tea that the boy was having.

A few moments passed, and the hunter still hadn't moved a muscle. The brunet inclined his head slightly to the side, wondering at the boy's behavior.

It was only after another short while that it seemed like the child had come out of his daze, as he raised his hands with the cup in them up to his lips. But he stopped in mid-motion, abruptly, tensing ever so slightly. Then all of a sudden, his bright – even in this pitch darkness – eyes were on him. The boy didn't see him, Kaname was sure, as it was too dark for his human vision to discern much, let alone actually spot him when he was standing in the shadows. Still, those intent orbs looked on, aware of his presence, yet their owner didn't utter a word.

The brunet stepped into the room then, as smoothly and soundlessly as he had arrived. And he had no idea why he did it.

That attentive gaze stayed on him for another couple of seconds, and then the silver-haired boy averted his eyes back to the window. Having lingered there for a moment, they slid closed, silvery eyelashes fluttering slightly, as the little hunter took a sip of his drink. A soft sigh fell from his lips as he did that, his small form relaxing visibly.

Kaname blinked. Quite frankly, he was at a loss. To say that such reaction from the boy left him slightly bewildered would be an understatement.

Silence stretched. The pureblood remained in his place, watching the younger boy. His own gaze automatically went to the window, he couldn't help wondering what had captured the other's attention so. But there was nothing in it. Other than slowly descending snow. It was a peaceful night.

"Do you want some?" A soft, quiet voice broke the silence, startling the brunet out of his musings. Kaname's eyes widened a fraction, he turned to look at the other occupant of the room. The hunter's amethyst orbs were on him again, staring expectantly, probably waiting for the answer to their owner's earlier inquiry. The pureblood blinked, his brows furrowed ever so slightly in confusion. He didn't quite...

 _'Oh...'_ He understood what the other meant when the boy lifted his cup a little and gave it a brief, but meaningful glance, most likely seeing the slight perplexity in Kaname's expression.

The brunet nodded automatically, not pondering over the offer too deeply. He lowered himself into one of the chairs standing around the table, silently watching the small form get up and go towards the kitchen counter. The little hunter's movements were surprisingly deft, considering the obvious lack of light. Kaname couldn't help wondering at that discovery.

His thoughts about that went to the back of his mind and were temporarily forgotten, however, when a hot cup of caramel tea placed on a matching saucer and accompanied by a teaspoon was put in front of him, soon followed by a sugar bowl. The silver-haired boy didn't say a word the whole time, and simply returned to his seat after tending to the pureblood.

Kaname watched the hunter silently for a few more moments, then turned his attention to the drink the human had made for him. He put one spoon of sugar into it before picking up the cup and taking a sip from it, humming inwardly as he savored the rich taste. The older boy relaxed involuntarily, his perfect posture slackening a little.

"It's good," the brunet uttered absent-mindedly before lifting his gaze to look at his companion.

He got a nod in response, those big eyes leaving him, lowering to the mug the boy was holding and staring at it impassively.

"...Why aren't you asleep?" Kaname found himself asking all of a sudden. And just as unexpectedly, he continued when the hunter's gaze returned to him, "Cross-san said it was a tiring day for all of you."

There was a brief silence before the human gave another nod, replying, "Mm. It was... But I..." he paused, averting his eyes, "couldn't sleep."

"Oh," was all Kaname could say. He took another sip of his tea, his attention going across the table and on the silver-haired boy's small hands for some reason. A thought of how feeble they seemed to be crossed his mind, along with some of Cross's earlier words.

After lingering on the thin digits for a short while, the pureblood's garnet orbs shifted higher, and landed on the slim, pale neck. They stayed there much longer – he couldn't help it, it was instinctual. When his gaze went further up, Kaname was startled to find the other's lavender hues staring back at him, somewhat curiously. Then a thoughtful frown appeared on the boy's features briefly as he inclined his head to the side ever so slightly.

Kaname wondered what it was about. His brows drew together in a faint frown as well. He didn't say anything though.

"You're a vampire...a pureblood," came the quiet voice, simply stating the fact with no fear or accusing undertones in it.

The brunet was surprised. And impressed to say the least. He was suppressing his aura almost completely – it was something like a habit for him to do it. It still wasn't hard to detect that he was a vampire, but to others' senses he should seem no higher than a noble. A powerful noble, yes, but nowhere near a pureblood. He had thought that had been the reason for the little hunter's calm demeanor – although that, too, was strange enough in itself.

"...I am," the brunet replied with a slight nod, stunned. But his expression remained void of any signs of his astonishment.

"You feel familiar..." the boy trailed off, his gaze lowering again.

"How so?" Kaname couldn't help but ask, his frown deepening at the other's words, but he received no further explanation as the hunter only shrugged softly and resumed drinking his tea quietly.

The pureblood did the same, after watching the younger boy for some time, expecting him to speak, which never happened. So he decided to dismiss the matter for now. Maybe the little human just meant Shizuka. They were both purebloods, so there were some similarities in their auras. And the night Cross brought them too...

"What is your name?" The hunter asked after some time, those unique eyes watching the brunet expectantly once more.

"...Kaname."

The boy's gaze lowered, contemplatively, as he nodded absently, "Kaname..." He looked up again, and gave a faint, barely perceptible smile as he uttered softly, "I'm Zero."

**-o-**

"Welcome back, Kaname," Takuma greeted him, looking up from the manga book he was reading, a radiant smile on his face as always, "How was your visit? How is Yuuki-chan?"

"I didn't see her," was the pureblood's simple reply as he made his way across the room to the bookshelf. "She was already sleeping when I arrived," he added distractedly, looking over the books to choose which one he wanted to read this time around.

"Eh?" Takuma blinked. "But... Where have you been all this time?"

"...At Cross-san's house." One title caught his attention and he took the thick volume, opening and starting to read it on his way to the comfortable chair standing slightly to the side from the sofa the younger Ichijou was occupying, oblivious to his blond friend's more than apparent confusion.

"What were you doing there?" Takuma couldn't help but blurt out, bewilderment was radiating from him in uncertain waves now. But he couldn't be blamed for his reaction, it was more than understandable. The only reason why Kaname visited the ex-hunter was to see Yuuki. And everything else didn't hold the slightest interest in his eyes. So the young noble's questions weren't unexpected.

And thankfully for the cheery blond, Kaname perfectly understood that. Which was why he simply answered the younger boy's inquiry calmly, his gaze never leaving the pages of the book he was reading, "Nothing in particular. Something just caught my attention on my way out is all."

"I see..." And now it was outright curiosity that was swirling in the noble's emerald eyes and around him. But having received no further explanation even after waiting and looking at his friend expectantly for more than ten long seconds, Takuma gave up, his posture slumping in obvious disappointment and a small pout making itself apparent on his features. He returned to his manga, very much sulking, in the pureblood's opinion.

Kaname stifled an amused chuckle at his friend's antics, a barely perceptible smile making its way on his lips. But it disappeared when his gaze left his book and he turned to look out the window.

The snow had stopped. And it was long past midnight by now.

Unwittingly, his thoughts strayed to the little hunter, to the older of the Kiryuu twins, _Zero_.

He wondered briefly if the boy was still there, sitting behind the kitchen table with another cup of caramel tea and gazing into the distance. Alone and in the darkness.

**-o-**

Zero gave another squeeze to the hand that rested in his own evidently shaking one lifelessly, too weak to even move.

He was a panicking, pitifully sobbing mess, even though he knew he wasn't supposed to be like this. But he couldn't do anything about it. It was Ichiru, his other half, his closest friend and his only remaining family. How else could he react to _this_?

His brother had been alright – more than alright – this whole time of four and a half weeks that they had been staying at Cross's house. He hadn't had a fever even once, he had been feeling better than ever and there had been no signs indicating the impending change in his condition, especially so sudden and drastic. And this morning, too, everything had been fine. It had started like an ordinary day and had continued that way until evening, when Ichiru suddenly started feeling unwell. That alone had been already enough to leave Zero agitated. And further aggravation of his twin's condition did nothing to calm him.

"Zero...?" A hoarse voice reached him, immediately earning the boy's undivided attention. Automatically, Zero's free hand reached to wipe off any traces of tears from his face before he replied, his tone soft and soothing, "I'm here, Ichiru. What is it?"

"'m thirsty...Water..."

As expected, the older boy was quick to grant his twin's incoherently mumbled request. Letting go of the hand in his, he reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and brought it to Ichiru's lips while helping his brother up, supporting his back carefully.

The younger Kiryuu drank greedily, downing the flavorless liquid in mere seconds, a tiny rivulet of clear water running down the side of his chin. Zero returned the now empty glass to its previous place, then wiped off the moisture from his twin's slightly feverish skin and lowered Ichiru down to bed. Gently brushing the stray silvery locks away from his counterpart's face, the older boy asked softly, "How are you feeling?"

"Better...a little."

"The doctor is on his way...It'll be alright, Ichiru."

 _'It'll be alright...'_ Zero repeated inwardly, over and over again, trying to convince himself of that more so than his twin.

"'kay..." Ichiru replied weakly, leaning into his brother's hand on his cheek.

"Do you need anything else?"

"No..." the younger boy answered, shaking his head slightly, before scooting over a little. Zero understood the silent request and wasted no time getting into the bed and lying down beside his twin.

 _'It will be alright...'_ he couldn't help but repeat in his mind again.

**-o-**

When he woke up next, probably only a few hours later judging by the same darkness that still engulfed their room, it became clear what was going on with Ichiru, and what exactly was wrong.

Lying in place motionlessly, Zero looked into red, blazing eyes – _vampire eyes –_ staring down at him unwaveringly with sheer hunger burning in them vividly. He called his brother's name quietly, but no response came from the younger boy. Strangely enough though, even as that gaze was trained on him, he didn't feel any fear, nor worry.

It was Ichiru, _his_ Ichiru. There was no way he could ever be scared of him. So he hadn't moved a muscle when he found his twin's form hovering over his upon awakening. He never made an attempt to escape, but simply stayed where he was, meeting Ichiru's fixed gaze with his own calm, but still concerned one. His heart was racing in his chest and he couldn't help it, but he ignored that too.

And just like that, he didn't protest when the trembling grip on him tightened and his head was forced to the side – still in a surprisingly gentle manner. Then that warm mouth that had previously pulled him out of his slumber returned to his neck, and he felt that same moist tongue on his skin, now moving with urgency and near desperation.

Briefly, Zero wondered if it would hurt. But that thought was fleeting and it quickly left him.

On their own accord, his arms enveloped Ichiru in a tight, reassuring embrace, and he pulled him closer, his hand stroking his twin's identically silver hair tenderly.

An involuntary shudder ran through him, and Zero inhaled deeply before letting out a shaky breath. The hold on him got firmer again, and Ichiru pressed further into him.

The older boy's eyes slid shut and he couldn't help but try to convince himself once more, _'Everything will be alright...'_

And then there was nothing but blinding pain that shot through him as his neck was pierced deeply.


	3. Another Last Snow

 

"Zero-kun, what are those?" Yuuki inquired, giving the bandages around the said boy's neck a curious look as she stepped into the kitchen.

The older Kiryuu blinked, first not quite understanding what the other was talking about, but then his hand went to the place where the bitemarks were unconsciously, as though trying to cover them more. He brushed the spot gently, giving the brunet girl a small, a little nervous smile as he answered, "It's nothing. I just cut myself."

"Oh, I see... Does it hurt?" It looked like Yuuki believed him. Well, thank God for that, Zero sighed in relief mentally.

"No, not at all. Don't worry about it, Yuuki," he patted her lightly on the head, causing a small blush to appear on the girl's cheeks. Although Zero was oblivious to it, like usual. So unlike his younger twin.

"What are you cooking today?" the girl asked excitedly, her mind already on the delicious scents that were beginning to float in the kitchen, promising her yet another wonderful start of the morning. Sniffing the air again unconsciously, she gave a small hum of content internally, already impatient to dig into the soon to be prepared meal.

"It's miso soup and rice," Zero responded, returning his attention back to the pot and its contents with a soft, fond smile playing on his lips. He had decided to go for traditional today. Strange as it may sound, it was Ichiru's comfort food, for whatever reason. And Zero thought his twin needed it right now – the younger boy was down still, and had been this whole morning because of what had happened. He had told him more than a few times that it was okay and that he didn't mind, but apparently, it had failed to ease Ichiru's guilt and to lift his mood. So he chose the only other way he knew to somehow raise his counterpart's spirits. Usually it helped, so Zero hoped it would work this time around as well.

"I haven't tried it before..." came Yuuki's uncertain, but still hesitantly excited voice. She watched the pot and Zero's every movement with rapt attention now, her wide eyes twinkling with curiosity in them. The silver-haired boy couldn't help the light chuckle that fell from his lips at the sight, but it looked like the brunet didn't notice it, too engrossed in her observations.

He dismissed his surprised comment on how it could be even possible that the girl hadn't had it before – it was one of the most popular and simplest kind of dishes in their country after all. But he guessed it would be pointless to ask anyway, as it was enough to remember Cross and his remarkable 'skills and techniques' to get the answer. A grimace almost made its way on his delicate features as the boy recalled a few incidents. Ichiru had been right. It was a miracle that both father and daughter were still alive. And that the house was still intact and not burnt long ago – if it hadn't happened already some time in the past. The older Kiryuu wouldn't put that possibility aside – the blond ex-hunter was capable of causing such a thing, he was more than sure.

Zero spooned up some soup and blew on it lightly before tasting it. A soft hum sounded from him after a few moments and he nodded to himself in silent content. He turned to Yuuki then, taken aback a little when he found her expectant eyes fixed on him unwaveringly. Quick to recover, however, he gave the girl a small smile, and asked her to set the table, receiving an enthusiastic nod in response. Lavender orbs followed the brunet for a couple of seconds, then returned to the almost ready meal. He added a few more finishing touches, and soon turned the stove off.

**-o-**

There were some divine smells coming from the kitchen, and he couldn't help it when unwittingly, he inhaled deeply, which caused his eyes to slide closed briefly and his stomach to growl slightly. He was hungry, and these aromas were more than tempting, but he absolutely refused to concede. He refused to...

And yet here he was. Already in the kitchen, before he was even aware of the fact that his legs had brought him into the room.

Damn Zero for knowing him so well. And for being his quietly sneaky self – he just knew what buttons to push and was perfectly aware that Ichiru could never refuse him. And now he was using all that against him shamelessly, which was usually the younger twin's privilege that Ichiru never missed the opportunity to abuse. But with his brother's consent, of course – he ever did it only because Zero allowed so. Otherwise he would never take advantage of his other half's soft spot for him. Although...

Ah well. It wasn't significant at the moment.

"Yuuki," Ichiru's hazed from thoughts eyes focused on the source of the soft voice, all his attention was on his brother even though it wasn't him Zero was talking to, "can you call Cross-san, please? Everything is ready."

Lively as ever, the girl gave an enthusiastic "Okay!" in reply and turned to head out of the room. It was then that she finally noticed him. She halted in her steps momentarily, blinking, then smiled widely anew and greeted him, "Good morning, Ichiru-kun!"

"Yeah... morning," was the said boy's monotonous, mumbled response as he proceeded into the room quietly and seated himself in one of the chairs around the table, his gaze anywhere but on his brother's form.

"That's cheating, you know..." Ichiru muttered, a slight pout could be heard in his voice, and Zero didn't fail to catch it, but he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty despite his counterpart's accusation – it wasn't serious anyway, halfhearted at best.

"Yeah," Zero replied simply, his soft, amused gaze shifting to rest on the younger boy as he gave him a small, content smile. "But so long as it works..." he trailed off, the corners of his lips lifting further, this time somewhat smugly – so uncharacteristic of the older Kiryuu.

Ichiru couldn't help the slight twitch of his own lips. And then they curved upwards as he ducked his head, his eyes falling on his favorite meal his twin had already placed in front of him. A gentle look took over the boy's features, and he let out a quiet sigh. His hand went to rub his chest area unconsciously as he felt warmth spread there, something inside of him finally calming down.

**-o-**

"Yuuki, look who I have here," Cross's voice nearly sang happily as he entered the kitchen where three children were, preoccupied with their self-appointed task.

"Kaname-sama!" the girl beamed, having turned her gaze to the doorway where her adopted father stood, only to see another familiar form there, smiling at her gently. As always, she ran to the older brunet and gave him a hug, which he accepted gladly. "I didn't know you'd come. What are you doing here?" Yuuki asked, pulling away and looking up at the pureblood with a wide smile and an excited blush on her face.

Kaname let out a small chuckle before responding, his hand patting the girl's head gently, "I promised I would visit more often, didn't I?"

To which the little brunet nodded happily, and her smile broadened further as her arms encircled Kaname's waist briefly once more. Then she let go and took a hold of his hand, and pulled him after her, telling the vampire that she wanted him to meet someone.

"Zero-kun, Ichiru-kun," hearing their names, the twins looked up from what they were doing, returning their attention to the pair – they had spent no more than a few short seconds to silently observe the whole scene that had unfolded in front of them previously, quickly losing interest in it.

Yuuki proceeded to introduce them, but for once, her voice didn't reach Kaname's ears as his garnet orbs were already concentrated on Zero's slim neck, having noticed the bandages right away. He was a bit bewildered at first, but the initial shock and confusion passed soon enough, as realization dawned on him, and the pureblood's gaze shot to the older Kiryuu's face.

"Kaname-sama...?"

But he was successfully brought out of his short daze by Yuuki's uncertain call of his name. Quickly recovering, the pureblood turned to the girl and gave her another soft smile of his, this one somewhat uneasy, although the younger brunet didn't notice it. He averted his attention back to the twins then, finding the both of them frowning slightly, apparently puzzled – he guessed by his behavior. So he composed himself anew, and greeted the silver-haired boys as well, his usual mask back in place.

"It's nice to meet you, Ichiru-kun," he gave the younger twin a nod of acknowledgment before turning to the other Kiryuu, "How have you been, Zero-kun?"

"Fine...thanks."

"You know him?" Ichiru asked immediately, his frown deepening.

"Mm," the boy nodded simply, adding, "we met once." It was obvious that both Yuuki and his twin were curious to know the details, so Zero continued, answering their most probable questions, "Here. By accident." And that was it. He returned his attention to the big bowl standing on the table in front of him and resumed whisking the mixture there, fully ignoring expectant looks his brother and Yuuki were giving him.

After a few more moments of silence, however, they gave up. Ichiru sighed, also returning to his own task, and Yuuki pouted.

Kaname couldn't help a small chuckle that left him as he watched the three.

"Oh, do you want to help us, Kaname-sama?" Yuuki perked up, easily forgetting about her disappointment, "We're making a cake!"

"More like _we_ are making it. And you just breathe down our necks waiting for it," Ichiru scoffed, not looking at her. A smug smirk coming onto his lips when he received a frustrated huff in response.

Kaname's brow twitched, his smile faltering. He opened his mouth to comment on the younger Kiryuu's tactlessness, but Yuuki spoke first, unusually vehement and far from her usual shy self. To say that it caught Kaname by surprise would surely be an understatement.

"I _do_ help! Zero-kun even praised me for it!"

"Well, my brother _is_ a softie." And that was true. "He just wanted to make you feel better," Ichiru shrugged dismissively.

Another twitch. The boy was really crossing the line.

"No, he didn't!"

"Sure did. I know him."

"Ichiru..." Zero sighed. What should he do with him?

"He didn't!" Yuuki turned to the older twin then, looking at him uncertainly, her big eyes pleading as she asked hopefully, "Right, Zero-kun?"

The older boy threw his counterpart a scolding gaze before turning to the brunet girl with a faint smile, "Right, Yuuki. Don't listen to Ichiru, he is just teasing you. He doesn't mean it."

"Really?" the girl's face lightened.

"Of course I do," Ichiru spoke before his brother had the chance to answer.

"No, you _don't_ ," Zero gave him a _look_ , silently pleading with him. Needless to say, Ichiru couldn't find it in himself to resist it. His resolve crumbled at astonishing speed as he stared into his other half's amethyst hues quietly.

So it wasn't long before he gave in, sighing resignedly, "Okay...I don't." He shot his twin an accusing glance, "Happy now?" To which he received a beautiful, albeit small, smile, along with a satisfied nod. And that alone was enough to make him forget about the fact that his fun had just been spoiled. And again, he couldn't prevent the corners of his lips from lifting slightly.

Kaname stared, perplexed. And more than a little amused for sure, highly impressed by the older Kiryuu's... _persuasive skills_ , so to speak. It was actually quite fascinating to watch the boy use them on his twin, and to see the other yield so easily.

"So, do you?" came Zero's voice, and the pureblood blinked, taken aback upon realizing that the question was directed at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

An eyebrow was quirked at him, "Want to help. Yuuki asked you that."

"Oh..." Right. He forgot. "I would love to." Again, he replied without thinking. "But I...don't know how." In all honesty, he had no idea. He had never set a foot into the kitchens of both his former and current homes, let alone cooked anything, or even knew how to do it at that.

"Can't be any worse than Yuuki then."

"Ichiru-kun!" the said girl whined, causing a slight smirk to appear on the younger twin's face and another sigh to fall from the older one's lips, while Kaname stifled another chuckle on his part.

But his mirth didn't last long, as worry and apprehension were fast to crawl into the back of his mind when his gaze fell on the bandaged neck of Zero again. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, expression hardening for an instant, before he put his usual mask back on. But even that small slip was enough, as he found out the next moment when his attention went to the older twin's face, and he was taken aback, having been met with lilac hues staring back at him knowingly.

**-o-**

"You saw that, didn't you?" Kaname whispered, knowing that the other would hear him all the same. "There is no way you could have missed it. And you are still telling me that he is not a threat? That he is _harmless_...?"

"Yes, Kaname-kun," a soft smile came to the blond man's lips, his voice just as quiet, as his gaze flickered to the entrance to the living room, "I am. And I think you should have noticed and confirmed it for yourself already. Or am I wrong?" Cross tilted his head slightly to the side, his attention now fully on the brunet vampire, "Have you detected any signs that indicated some ill intentions from Ichiru-kun?"

"...No." His fist tightened involuntarily. "But maybe it's just too early to-"

"Exactly," the ex-hunter interrupted, still smiling kindly with calm look in his hazel eyes, "It's too early to tell for sure, and furthermore, to judge him or anyone at that. You can't jump to conclusions like that, after only one encounter."

"Sometimes it's more than enough," Kaname retorted. He knew that from experience, and from countless occurrences.

"But not in this case," the man averted his gaze briefly, then returned it to the pureblood, "And we will leave it at that." His smile turned into a goofy grin, all seriousness gone from his expression as Cross greeted the three children who had just stepped into the room.

Taking her seat beside the older brunet, Yuuki gave Kaname a plate with his piece of cake on it, which the vampire accepted with another deceptive, yet genuinely gentle smile of his, once again making the girl blush shyly.

But the pureblood missed it, as his attention was already focused on the twins who sat in the armchair to the side from the couch the two brunets occupied.

**-o-**

As Cross had suggested, Kaname had indeed dropped the matter. At least for the time being. And only partly, as he refused to let his guard down completely – he could never do that, especially in such circumstances that involved his precious girl. So he kept his eye on the potential threat that the younger Kiryuu represented, in his opinion.

And as time went by and seasons changed, soon it was a little over a year since the twins' appearance in their lives. Kaname was pretty much used to having both boys around when he visited Cross's quarters, and from what he had seen so far, it was safe to say that the two had become an inseparable part of the blond ex-hunter and Yuuki's lives. The pureblood wasn't quite sure what his thoughts and feelings were on that particular detail as of yet, but so long as his dear girl was safe – which she proved to be, to his relief – and happy, he was content as well.

Besides, he didn't mind the twins, at least not the older one of them, but the younger one still bothered him at times. That was why he never stopped his observation of the boys. And as it went on, after some while, it had led to...discoveries he would have never expected to stumble upon. At least not in that society he didn't belong to, the one that was supposed to be so different from his own. He often thought that he was just imagining things, and wondered if for the second time when it concerned the twins, he was mistaken. But his guess only proved to be correct as days went by, with every new encounter...

Kaname's train of thoughts came to a halt as his ears picked up on the sound of light footsteps rapidly coming closer on the other side of the door.

The brunet raised an eyebrow. He could sense that it was Ichiru, and not Yuuki who usually ran to the entrance eagerly to greet him. And he knew for sure that the boy wasn't rushing here to welcome _him_ of all people. What was...

The door flew open sharply. And the pureblood was stunned for a second when he saw the look on Ichiru's face. Pure expectancy and happiness mixed with relief. The boy's face was the most alive Kaname had ever seen it become. But that expression disappeared the moment lavender orbs landed on him, and the younger Kiryuu was back to his usual demeanor with him.

"Oh..." He sounded positively disappointed, and it was clear from his aura as well, because it evidently darkened and grew heavier. "Just you..."

Kaname's brow twitched.

Oh yes, charming as ever. Especially when it came to him. So the brunet wasn't really surprised by this reaction. But he did feel curious about it. He couldn't help wondering who the younger Kiryuu was waiting so.

He didn't get to say a word, however, as Ichiru quickly turned on his heels and went back into the house, leaving Kaname standing on the threshold, obviously not caring about the pureblood whatsoever.

Watching the retreating form silently, the brunet let out a resigned sigh before entering the house and closing the door after himself quietly. Then, as his fingers were sliding from the doorknob, a small smile appeared on his lips, and the thoughts of Ichiru and his strange behavior were dismissed at once, at least for now.

"Yuuki..." Kaname said softly, turning to face his most precious person, then going through their usual ritual of greetings, with the girl giving him a warm hug, him returning it gently, and then patting her auburn hair and stroking her cheek adoringly. His smile widened ever so slightly and he suppressed a light chuckle as a faint blush spread over the younger brunet's smooth cheeks.

Yuuki led him to the living room then, where he was immediately reminded of his earlier bewilderment with the younger Kiryuu's behavior, as the boy sat there stiffly, staring into space unseeingly with gloomy and nervous air about him.

A small frown crossed Kaname's features briefly, and he turned to look down at Yuuki with question apparent in his garnet eyes. The girl gave him an uneasy, somewhat forced smile before replying to him in a hushed tone.

"It's Zero. His hunter master took him somewhere four days ago, and he hasn't returned since then, so..." she trailed off, her gaze straying back to the silver-haired boy in the armchair.

 _'Oh...'_ Kaname's eyes cleared in understanding. _'Of course.'_ There was only one person who could affect Ichiru to such an extent – his twin. He should have guessed earlier, when the boy had opened the door.

"Zero-kun is expected to return tonight then?" he couldn't help but voice out his assumption, secretly disappointed that the older Kiryuu wasn't present – but just a bit. And he wouldn't admit it out loud.

Yuuki nodded, smiling happily.

"I see," he replied, averting his gaze slightly to the side, somewhat thoughtful, as something fluttered in his chest briefly and garnet orbs glinted with anticipation for a short moment.

"Let's go, Kaname-sama." Yuuki's voice reached him, pulling him out of his momentary daze. She tugged at his hand, heading for the couch, and the pureblood followed obediently, a faint, but sweet smile making its way on his face again.

**-o-**

"Aren't you going to bed as well? It is late, you must be tired," the brunet said as he re-entered the room and saw the younger boy where he had been for the last couple of hours or so, not moving and even more agitated than he had been before.

"It's none of your business," Ichiru grumbled irritatedly, tightening his arms around his knees that were drawn up to his chest. "And I'm not tired," he added, frowning and almost pouting, from what Kaname could see. The boy lowered his head and let his chin rest on his bent knees then, mumbling stubbornly, "I'll wait for Zero."

Kaname let the first part of Ichiru's response slide, knowing that it was mostly his foul mood speaking. That, and he was actually used to this far from adoring treatment by now. He was very much aware that the boy wasn't too fond of him – or of anyone who wasn't Zero at that. The second part, however, made him lift a skeptical eyebrow, while the last one was hardly of any surprise.

"Is that so?" the pureblood said distractedly, proceeding into the room. He lowered himself onto the couch again, and it was only then that the younger Kiryuu actually turned his gaze to him – for the second time that night, first being when the brunet had only arrived.

"Why the hell are you making yourself comfortable here?" Ichiru's frown deepened, "Go away. You're annoying."

Another lift of one elegant eyebrow.

"Where did you learn such words, Ichiru-kun?" Kaname couldn't help asking, a bit surprised, dismissing the rest of the boy's reply. He certainly hoped that his dear Yuuki wouldn't be influenced by the younger Kiryuu's new vocabulary.

"None of your business," Ichiru shot back, turning away from the pureblood with a dark scowl on his face.

Kaname sighed. Then averted his gaze from the silver-haired boy silently. It was obvious that this... _conversation_ , if he could call it that, wouldn't lead anywhere. The boy was too distressed. And it seemed like his emotional condition was worsening with every passing second. So after about half an hour the already heavy enough atmosphere in the room was nearly suffocating even for the brunet.

But quite surprisingly, Ichiru's mood immediately and almost completely lightened when after another couple of minutes, sharp knocks disturbed the silence of the room. And the boy was gone before Kaname could even blink. With that same expectant look on his face the young pureblood had seen upon his arrival.

He let out a deep sigh and got up, then headed to the hallway and proceeded in the direction of the entrance, where he could hear the door had already been opened and two individuals had stepped into the house. Kaname could tell from their auras that both were hunters, with one of them much more experienced and powerful than the other. And judging by the smell of death that surrounded the older hunter, they had most likely returned from the hunt.

"Ichiru," the pureblood heard Zero's quiet voice before he actually saw the boy that stood by the door, enveloped in his counterpart's arms tightly, "It's okay, and I'm alright. But it's getting hard to breathe..." The boy let out a small laugh when his twin jumped back and away from him sharply immediately after he had spoken the last sentence. The flustered and slightly embarrassed look on Ichiru's face was priceless, and Zero couldn't help letting out a light chuckle. Which caused the younger twin's expression to morph into a rather endearing pout. But it was gone as soon as the older Kiryuu took a hold of his brother's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

Kaname watched the two, and after a few more seconds of staying on Ichiru, Zero's gaze went to the side and stopped at the pureblood, garnet eyes locking with lavender ones. His smile never faltered as the boy looked at him, and Kaname felt pleasant warmth spread somewhere in his chest briefly. It startled and puzzled him a bit, but he easily dismissed it for now. Zero opened his mouth to say something to the brunet, but no sound left him as a gruff voice broke the silence first.

"What the hell is a vampire doing here at this hour?"

Kaname looked up from Zero's form to meet with a steely glare a tall man with long, wavy jet black hair with an eyepatch over his right eye fixed him with. Unwittingly, the pureblood's gaze slid briefly to the rifle the hunter was holding over his shoulder, ready to fire any second despite his seemingly relaxed posture. His senses were warning him of danger, but he ignored that caution, knowing that the older hunter had no intention of attacking him – that much was evident from his behavior.

What Kaname did pay heed to though, was the way the question the man had thrown at him was phrased.

Again, one perfect brow went up slightly, but the brunet vampire stayed quiet.

Well, at least now his earlier query to the younger Kiryuu was answered.

"And a _pureblood_ at that," the senior hunter continued, almost managing to make Kaname flinch internally. Never in his life had the brunet boy thought – or imagined – there could come a day when he would actually feel insulted that he was called a 'pureblood'. But seriously, the man's tone was laced with so much venom and disdain that it was kind of hard to remain unaffected.

"I-"

"Nothing." Ichiru interrupted sharply, his voice firm, "He's already leaving. Right?" The boy turned to Kaname, looking at him with annoyed expectancy, not so discreetly impatient to get rid of the brunet vampire. The pureblood's eyes narrowed slightly in irritation as he kept his burgundy orbs locked with dark lavender ones steadily, before averting them a bit to the side to meet with seemingly identical, but in reality so different calm ones that watched him curiously, if only with the barest hint of hesitation and concern in them.

Kaname didn't miss how Zero's pale, tiny fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around that of his twin. Just like he didn't miss the light pang he felt as he watched the brief action – for what reason though, he had no clue.

And the next second his gaze softened involuntarily. He let his eyes slide closed for a moment and sighed softly, then re-opened them to regard the younger Kiryuu anew. A deceitfully pleasant, small smile on his lips as he finally answered to the boy's inquiry, "Yes, that is correct. It is indeed time for me to go."

He had no business there anyway. He didn't know why he still was in this house. Or why he had even _stayed_ in the first place. He should have left right after he had put Yuuki to bed, and not go back to the living room and sit there with Ichiru.

"Well then," Kaname made his way towards the door. Giving the three a polite bow, he said his goodbye, and, having unconsciously exchanged another glance with Zero, left, failing to notice the suspicious look the dark-haired hunter shot him.

A quiet _'click'_ sounded as the door was pulled shut. Zero's gaze stayed on it for a couple of seconds before his attention was averted to Ichiru once more when the said boy tugged at his arm.

"Let's go, Zero. It's late."

"Mm," Zero nodded, following his twin who pulled him after himself, stopping briefly only to ask his mentor, "And you, master?"

The man tore his eye from the closed door and turned to look down at the two boys, who frowned simultaneously when he remained silent and just watched them with a thoughtful frown of his own. Then, after a few more moments, he seemed to come out of his musings.

"I'll go see that crazy old idiot," he said, ruffling their identical silver hair roughly as he passed by them. "You brats go to bed."

Both twins gave their wordless nods, then said good night, receiving a grunted reply from the older man, and proceeded to their room.

**-o-**

"I missed you," Ichiru murmured, his arms tightening around Zero as he drew his counterpart closer. "Don't leave for so long anymore."

He got a soft smile. Then his twin gave him a quiet "Okay" in response.

"Promise?"

A light nod. "Promise."

"Good..." Ichiru trailed off, obviously satisfied with his brother's answers. He knew Zero would keep his word no matter what, especially if he was the one asking for it. "How was the hunt? Nothing bad happened, right? You weren't hurt?" A concerned frown took over the younger boy's features.

Zero's smile widened, and he failed to suppress a light chuckle that escaped him. "It was alright. Nothing much happened and no, I wasn't hurt. You worry too much, Ichiru. You know how good Yagari-shishou is."

"I do. But still..."

"I know," pale fingers brushed a few stray locks out of Ichiru's eyes and tucked them behind the younger boy's ear, "Thank you, Ichiru."

The younger twin didn't say anything and just watched his other half silently before lowering his gaze and nodding gently, a rather content expression on his face.

"And you?" Ichiru gave a slight start at his brother's hushed voice, feeling small puffs of warm breath on his skin with each uttered word, light tingling sensation following it.

"What about me?" the boy asked, a bit bewildered. "I said I missed you..."

"No, not that..." Zero looked down briefly before his gaze flickered back to the other, "...Are you hungry? It's been a while..."

Ichiru's eyes widened a fraction after he blinked in realization. Then a reassuring smile appeared on his face and he tightened their embrace, moving even closer to his counterpart. His eyes slid shut as he breathed in and let out a deep sigh, his forehead now touching with that of Zero, "I'm okay, don't worry about it."

The older boy watched his twin wordlessly for a few seconds before lowering his lavender orbs, concern still lingering in them clearly.

"Kaname..." Zero whispered the name, noticing how his brother froze for a short moment and squeezed his hand tighter, bringing it closer to his chest. His eyes remained hidden from view, but the older boy had no problem detecting the barely noticeable darkening of Ichiru's mood nevertheless. Still, he continued, "Did he upset you?"

"Not particularly," the younger Kiryuu shrugged one shoulder, "You know I just don't like him. And it annoys me how often he comes here." His expression showed how true his words were, as Zero could clearly see irritation written there.

"...While I was gone, nothing happened, right?"

At that Ichiru opened his eyes again, now looking at his counterpart curiously, "With that pureblood?" Having received a nod in response, he continued, "Like what?"

"…" He didn't know. But at times, he couldn't help being a bit apprehensive to leave Ichiru alone, to let him out of his sight when Kaname was nearby. It was the way the brunet looked at his twin sometimes – his eyes during those moments just reminded him too much of the way their parents had gazed at his other half every so often. He hadn't liked it then, and he hardly appreciated it now. It caused uneasiness to spread within the older Kiryuu, making him feel cold, frightening and agitating him. Even at this very moment, as he was recalling all that.

But he was pulled out of his unpleasant musings when arms around him tightened even further. Of course, Ichiru had noticed his anxiety and was fast to try and calm him down. And as usual, he succeeded in it rather easily, for that coldness Zero felt disappeared the instant he saw another smile his twin gave him – it conveyed everything he needed to know and managed to soothe the older boy, with no words necessary.

**-o-**

Hesitation and slight uneasiness was evident in the bright emerald orbs as they watched the still figure sitting near the window and staring into it unseeingly. The brunet had been completely motionless for more than five minutes by now, with the book he had been previously reading held in his hands, which were resting on his lap, loosely, and frankly, it disturbed Takuma. He was getting more than a little worried about his friend.

"...Is there something wrong, Kaname?" the blond noble couldn't help asking uncertainly. But he failed to bring the pureblood out of his musings, as the older vampire showed no sign of acknowledgment whatsoever. It was only after several more callings of his name that Kaname snapped out of his daze.

He blinked once, a barely noticeable frown marring his features as he averted his attention to the blond boy and asked, "I'm sorry, Takuma... What was that you were saying?"

His concern heightening slightly, the noble repeated his original question.

"Not at all... Why are you asking?"

"No, it's just... You seem to be a bit...distracted tonight." Yeah, to say the least. So unlike the pureblood's usual sharp collected self. Not to mention the fact that his aura felt somewhat...off.

"Oh... I see." Garnet eyes stayed on the blond for another couple of seconds before returning to the window, cloudy and distant once more. "But you're worrying yourself unnecessarily, Takuma. It's nothing of importance. Just some trivial matters..."

 _'It's nothing...'_ Kaname repeated inwardly, almost beginning to believe in it himself.

Concern was still present in the younger vampire's gaze and he wasn't quite convinced for sure, but he conceded anyway, choosing not to pester his pureblood friend any further.

"If you say so..." Takuma trailed off, his attention going back to his manga book, although he wasn't as immersed in reading anymore. He couldn't help throwing the brunet anxious glances every so often, but it looked like, for once, the older boy was oblivious to it, completely absorbed in his thoughts.


	4. White Lilies

It had taken him a lot of time and even more courage to make up his mind and come here. At long last, after all these years...

Yet it was still hard to do it, to be in this place – so much harder than he had imagined. He had no idea how he should act and what he should say. He couldn't even lift his eyes and take a look at _them_ , let alone actually greet them properly. Maybe he was just being stupid, like he knew he must have been all this time, but... he couldn't help it, couldn't bring himself to do what he should, what he _wanted_ to do and what he had come here for.

And so like that, a few hours had already passed by since he had arrived. He never moved from his position and simply kept standing there, staring at the ground unseeingly with a small nervous frown and barely visible pained expression on his features, a bouquet resting in his arms, pressed to his chest gently.

It wasn't until another short while that Zero lifted his gaze slowly, hesitantly, and focused it on the tombstone in front of him, his eyes immediately falling on the names that were carved there – the names of his parents. The silver-haired boy and now soon-to-be teen stared at the syllables silently for a few moments, images of familiar, precious features of both his mother and father making its way into his unprotected mind. It wasn't long before they were replaced with a flood of memories – of everything, every little and insignificant detail and event that they had experienced together, when they still were a happy family. And he couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of guilt and sadness, his eyes involuntarily beginning to sting from overwhelming emotions. His fingers tightened slightly, and the boy's gaze turned to the flowers in his hands, somewhat surprised, as if he just remembered that he had them with him.

Lavender orbs blinked, and without thinking much, Zero lowered himself and put the bouquet on the grave like he knew he was supposed to do – it had been, after all, purchased for this and none other purpose in the first place. Otherwise he would have hardly bought white lilies. For personally, although he liked the way they looked and deemed them beautiful, he thought their scent was... a bit funny, at least for his liking. But he remembered well that those were the flowers his late mother had favored most, so he had chosen them right away, without any hesitation.

He didn't get up after that, deciding to stay in his sitting position now that he had finally made the first move. He guessed he should also... _talk_ to them, after these few hours of complete silence, and after all this time of not visiting them – and he wanted to too, but nothing came to his mind. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but no sound left him, because he didn't know what to say, and where to start from. His head was just suddenly empty of any ideas and thoughts, and all he could do was simply sit there, staring ahead of him at their names on the tombstone, before his watery eyes shifted down. Tears spilled from them the next instant of their own accord, but Zero made no attempt to stop their flow, either not really noticing or simply not caring.

Quiet sobs kept falling from pale lips, filling the absolute silence of the graveyard, sounding loud and clear in it. It wasn't until another while that the boy spoke, his voice raspy and shaking.

"Mom...Dad..." Zero's form was trembling as he wept quietly, unable to stop and calm down now that the sadness, guilt and regret he had kept locked up in himself these two and a half years had come to the surface.

"I-..." he inhaled sharply and unevenly, small whimpers escaping him, "I'm sorry," he breathed out almost inaudibly, his fingers clutching at the fabric of his pants tightly, "I'm sorry..."

Shaking shoulders slumped even more than previously, head bowing further to the point where neither Zero's closed eyes nor his face itself could be seen. Soft sobs kept raking his small form as he sat there, continuing to whisper hushed apologies.

Eventually though, the boy's voice faded away altogether. And it wasn't too long before his whimpers quietened down a bit along with the shaking. For some more time, Zero stayed there, his vision blurry as he stared at his bent knees with puffy and reddened, slightly narrowed eyes, wet trails still on his cheeks and occasional teardrops slipping down every so often.

Silence took over the place once again after another while, the day was getting closer to its end and evening was approaching. It would be dark soon, and Zero knew he had to go back, because it was dangerous to wander in the night, especially alone. Not to mention the fact that Ichiru and Cross would definitely be worried, if they weren't already – his brother more so than his guardian.

He knew he needed to leave, but that, too, wasn't easy – just as coming here hadn't been either. So he stayed a little longer, still not speaking and not doing much other than looking at his parents' grave some more.

"...I miss you..." he uttered finally after another long period of silence, his words barely audible. "I miss you... so much..."

His gaze fell, and silver head bent a bit. Zero's form, that he hadn't until now been aware was tense, relaxed slightly, at long last, and he let out a shaky sigh.

"But I...I'm okay, really, and Ichiru..." the boy took in a deep breath, "he is fine too..." Even though he wasn't here with him. But Zero hadn't expected his twin to accompany him and come, due to obvious reasons. "So...you don't have to worry about us, everything is..." he didn't finish his sentence, trailing off. Pale fingers fumbled with each other feebly, sad amethyst orbs watching them blankly. The silver-haired boy stayed quiet for a few seconds, but then continued, a faint, barely visible smile tugging the corners of his pale lips up a bit, "You know uncle Cross, right?" He didn't receive an answer, but that was expected, so he wasn't discouraged in the slightest and simply continued after a moment, "He is nice. Really weird and kind of crazy, but not in a bad way... It's actually fun being around him, and he is good to us..."

"There is also Yuuki- it's his adopted daughter, she is one year younger than us, and they're really alike with uncle Cross – I would've never thought they weren't related," Zero's smile got more perceptible, now reaching his eyes as well. "Ichiru always teases her about...well, pretty much everything," he allowed a small chuckle to fall from his lips, remembering a few occurrences with his brother and the brunet girl, "and it's so much fun to watch the two of them..."

For another short while, the silver-haired boy lapsed into silence, still not lifting his gaze. Then Zero spoke again, his smile faltering briefly and voice dropping a little, "And there is Kaname... He is a pureblood, and Yuuki really likes him." Unlike Ichiru. "He used to visit a lot, but we haven't seen him for a while now..." For over a year actually. Zero guessed the pureblood was very busy. Which, while certainly upset Yuuki, pleased Ichiru just as much, if not more – for reasons the older Kiryuu twin still couldn't quite comprehend though.

"It's..." Zero's voice was nothing but a faint whisper now, "Everything is...alright..." Lilac eyes shifted to the white, bell-shaped flowers, thin fingers going to trace the cool surface of the plants slowly, thoughtfully, "Ichiru is healthy now, and it's much easier for him to train... Yagari-shishou even takes both of us with him on easier missions sometimes, to observe..."

He fell silent the next moment, but continued to caress one of the lilies softly, the movements of his digits slowing down gradually, before stopping altogether. The boy was motionless and it was quiet again. Zero's eyes stayed on the bouquet for some more time, and then went up slowly, stopping on the carved letters once more. Hesitantly, he raised his arm and reached for the tombstone, his fingers brushing over the names there gently. His smile widened a bit, but instead of making his expression look happier, it only did the opposite, as the boy seemed to be more in pain than he had been previously.

His eyes were watery again, and soft lips parted slightly to let the whispered words escape, "I have to go..."

It was late. Almost sunset already... And Ichiru must be worried sick by now.

"But I... I will come again." Very soon, and they wouldn't have to wait for so long this time around. "And will talk to you some more, I promise..."

At least he would try, and maybe he would even get a little better at it. And maybe, just maybe, he would actually get his twin to come here with him and visit them as well, some time in the future... Zero was certain their parents would have wanted that. No matter what. In spite of everything that had happened. At least he hoped so.

"I promise..."

**-o-**

It had been almost a year and a half. For some it may be long, but for him who had a whole millennium ahead of him it was actually supposed to be a rather short period of time, especially with how busy he had been all these months. The project they were working on with Cross took a lot of time and efforts, a lot of issues had had to be dealt with, so it was pretty much safe to say that he had hardly had any free minute to spend all this while, and not only because of their work on co-existence, but also due to some of the Vampire Council affairs that required his attention and involvement.

Which was why he hadn't seen neither Yuuki, nor the twins, and not even Cross this whole time. To his greatest regret, for he missed the lively, warm, joyful evenings he had spent at the ex-hunter's house dearly. He missed his precious girl, her smiles and laughter, and everything that she was. And not only her, even Cross with his antics, Ichiru with his indifference and cold treatment, and of course... Zero...

Not for the first time, Kaname felt his chest tighten at the thought of the boy. But he had long learned not to pay much attention to it. For it had occurred too many times by now for him to really mind it. So the brunet dismissed the odd sensation easily.

Yes, the young pureblood had missed the four, and he had yearned to visit that welcoming house every second of this long while. He had even planned to, more than once or twice, but every time something just came up and pulled him away from there again, and so half a year had gone by, and then a whole year, and then another few months, and he had hardly noticed. It was only now Kaname realized how much time had passed, how Yuuki and the twins must have grown again, and how a lot of things in their lives must have changed as well... Only now did the pureblood understand how he truly missed them and how much he longed to see them...

Which he had gotten the opportunity to do, at long last. And he was delighted and couldn't help the excitement he felt, although, as always, he concealed it quite well – his expression certainly didn't betray his true emotions.

And so, both thrilled and somewhat apprehensive, Kaname arrived at this desired destination that was Cross's living quarters. He could tell the blond man was genuinely surprised, but pleasantly so – that much was obvious from the ex-hunter's demeanor and the way he had greeted him warmly. Even from that little act of kindness and show of affection, the brunet was filled with happiness, and he couldn't help but anticipate seeing the younger members of the family all the more eagerly.

However, he was in for disappointment, because as it turned out, Yuuki wasn't present. She was currently staying at her school friend's house, so Kaname wouldn't be able to see her. Strangely enough, however, the pureblood wasn't as upset as he would have expected to be. And when he also sensed the two painfully familiar presences of Zero and Ichiru in the house, that disappointment seemed to have simply...disappeared altogether, only to be replaced with renewed expectation and...

A slight frown of concern and puzzlement marred Kaname's features as he made his way towards the kitchen, where he, as expected, found the older Kiryuu twin.

Zero was busy cooking. Which was a rather nostalgic picture for the pureblood, and one that he hadn't had the chance to witness for a while. He almost forgot how...calming, for some inexplicable reason, it was to watch the boy go about his chosen tasks, with unconscious grace and practiced ease, air of quiet tranquility around him. This time though...it wasn't quite there, at least not fully. It was evident that the silver-haired boy was troubled by something, even though it didn't show on the surface – his expression seemed rather calm, from what Kaname could see.

The brunet's frown deepened a little as he stood in the doorway, watching Zero silently, puzzled as to what had happened to disturb the older Kiryuu so. And now that he noticed... He was also perplexed by the absence of another twin, who, according to the pureblood's sharp senses, was currently occupying the boys' bedroom, which wasn't so close to the kitchen. It was more than unusual for Zero to be alone when his brother was wide awake – and Kaname could tell for sure he _was –_ and anywhere in the vicinity. So it was no big wonder why the pureblood was, to say the least, a bit confused.

And a little disturbed, especially by the fact that the boy still didn't seem to have sensed him. Kaname was suppressing his aura again, habitually, yes, but it never prevented Zero from detecting his presence. The brunet couldn't help wondering what in the world...

"Zero-kun..." the pureblood spoke after a few more seconds of observing the silver-haired boy.

The older Kiryuu gave a small start at the sudden sound of still familiar voice, his movements stopping, and his head snapping up from the big bowl and the mixture he had been whisking there less than a moment ago. Surprise was evident in amethyst eyes when they met with burgundy ones, and for another short while that felt so much longer than it really was, it got quiet again and everything stilled. But soon the silence was broken again, by Zero this time around.

"Kaname...?" the boy asked, disbelief seeping into his tone.

The brunet couldn't help but smile lightly at the other's expression. A soft chuckle fell from his lips as he spoke, "Good evening, Zero-kun. It has been a while." Kaname stepped into the room fully and made his way towards the table, his hand was already on the back of one of the chairs, ready to pull it out for himself when he stopped and turned his attention to the younger boy once more to ask, "Do you mind if I join you?"

The response he received was a light shrug followed by a shake of the head. So, with another quiet chuckle escaping him, Kaname proceeded to sit down behind the table.

For a few moments, neither said a word, and Zero slowly returned to his task while the young pureblood watched his every motion. The boy had indeed grown, Kaname thought. He looked a bit taller, and somewhat more mature as well, although neither of the twins had ever been childish. But a part of the small hunter did seem to have changed to some extent, even his aura felt slightly different...

"How have you been, Zero-kun?" the brunet finally asked, lifting his gaze to look at the other's face. "How is Ichiru-kun?"

"Fine... We both are," the boy answered, not averting his attention from his current work. But his lavender orbs still found Kaname's garnet ones after a couple of seconds, curiosity dancing in them as Zero inquired, "Where have _you_ been all this time? Yuuki really missed you, you know."

"Oh? Only Yuuki? And here I hoped you did too..." Kaname couldn't help but tease lightly, a shadow of an uncharacteristically sly smile appearing on his face as he gave the younger boy a pointed look. Zero's eyes widened comically at the brunet's last comment, his pale cheeks turning a light pink. The next second he recovered, but the pureblood still had managed to catch that small slip, and the corners of his lips went further up in amusement and, secretly, surprised joy at such an adorable reaction.

"Stupid pureblood..." Zero mumbled almost inaudibly. Was it actually a pout Kaname thought he heard in his tone? "You're too full of yourself." Yep, it definitely was. How unusual.

The pureblood failed to suppress another small chuckle, thus causing that up to now invisible pout to become more apparent on the boy's face.

"Is that so?"

He didn't receive any response, not even a nod, and Zero's attention didn't stray from his task, but the whisking the little hunter was currently performing positively got more vigorous.

Silence lingered around the room for another short while, during which Kaname's smile still refused to fade. It did only when he took a closer look at Zero.

First he thought it was just his imagination. Not only because the slight reddening of lilac hues was barely noticeable, but also due to the fact that Kaname couldn't think of anything that would cause the boy to...

Again, the brunet felt his chest tighten uncomfortably. But he ignored it this time around as well, the only thing showing that he was somehow affected was a faint frown of concern that had made its way on the pureblood's features briefly.

"Oh, that's right, you-" Zero started, his eyes shifting to Kaname once more, but he stopped mid-sentence, caught off guard to find the brunet's intent gaze on him. His movements ceased entirely, the hunter blinked confusedly before inquiring curiously, "What is it?"

"...No...it's nothing." Kaname closed his eyes for a moment, clearing his throat lightly, "I apologize."

Zero cast him a puzzled glance, and the pureblood continued, a small smile coming across his features, "What was it you wanted to ask me, Zero-kun?"

One light brow going up, the silver-haired boy stayed silent for a few seconds, before deciding to let it go and shrugging gently, "Do you want some tea or something?"

"Oh... Sure. A cup of tea would be great."

Zero gave a nod, then proceeded to make the brunet his drink of choice. Fragrance of caramel floated through the room after a minute, and Kaname inhaled unconsciously, a soft smile pulling the corners of his lips upwards.

Ah, he remembered that wonderful scent. And sometimes he could still recall the texture he had felt on his tongue the first time he had tried that drink. Oddly, it would be only the second time he would get to have caramel tea since their first encounter with the boy a few years back. It surely brought memories...

Kaname blinked. Then his gaze shifted to the little hunter standing at the counter, and he took in another deep breath, now paying more careful attention to the unfamiliar aroma lingering over the younger boy faintly. It was...unusual. And Kaname was certain he had smelled it in the past, but it definitely hadn't been a part of the older Kiryuu's scent before. The brunet raked through his brain, trying to pinpoint what that peculiar fragrance was, but came up with nothing. Which only served to pique his curiosity further, but he let it be, clueless as to how he should go and ask about it.

A cup and saucer along with a teaspoon were placed before him, and Kaname was hit with yet another sense of nostalgia.

His bewilderment momentarily forgotten, the pureblood let another genuine smile grace his features as he took the offered drink and, having enjoyed its fragrance some more, brought the cup to his lips and took a small sip, a sigh of appreciation leaving him a few seconds after. It tasted even better than Kaname remembered. And moreover...

"You noticed," the brunet murmured, burgundy orbs softening.

"Huh?" Zero turned to the older boy while his hands resumed working on his task once again, "What do you mean?"

"No, nothing," Kaname gave the boy another gentle smile, receiving another arch of an eyebrow in response. But Zero didn't inquire further, and both returned to what they were doing, companionable silence settling over the room.

"What are you making this time?" Kaname asked after a few minutes, soft expression still on his face.

"A pie. Well, I'm trying to," the hunter paused briefly, his gaze turning to the pureblood and a warm smile coming to his lips, "It's a new recipe. Ichiru wanted to try it, so..."

"I see..." And now that the younger twin was mentioned... "Ichiru-kun is..." but he stopped before he could finish his question, thinking better of it and voicing another one instead, "How has he been?"

"Like usual," Zero shrugged, "He has been alright."

"Good," the pureblood nodded, his eyes dropping to the cup in his hand. He could feel the younger boy's curious gaze on him, but didn't react to it and resumed drinking his tea.

On his part, Zero simply gave another shrug, and proceeded to cook. Not the most manly pastime in the world, he guessed, but he liked doing it, and it really calmed him down, which the boy definitely needed after this day and its events.

That and a bit of space. Which he was, thankfully, given. By both Ichiru and Cross. As always, his brother had felt and understood his mood, and had been quick to provide him with what he needed after giving him a warm, comforting hug upon his return from the cemetery. And as for the blond ex-hunter, he once again surprised Zero with his sensitivity and mindfulness, for he had yet to bother the boy with his usual childish act and strange antics, which everyone was used to and tended to expect from the man.

And for that the older Kiryuu was truly thankful. To either individuals. And to...

To Kaname as well. It was actually surprising how...comforting the pureblood's presence turned out to be – even more so than it used to be, and at such moments too...

Unconsciously, the corners of Zero's lips went upwards. And unlike Kaname, the silver-haired boy failed to notice it. But the pureblood refrained from commenting on it. Dark eyelashes fluttering gently as they lowered, Kaname hid his soft smile as he finished his drink and then put the now empty cup down.

"Do you want another one?" Zero asked after some time, and Kaname looked up at him. His gaze was slightly puzzled at first, but it cleared in understanding after a moment, when the young hunter gave his cup a meaningful look.

"Oh..." the brunet breathed out in realization. His smile widening slightly, Kaname replied, "Of course, I would love to."

**-o-**

A soft call of his name broke the silence of the room gently, and Ichiru's head snapped up sharply, his unseeing eyes clearing as they focused on the source of the familiar voice of his most precious person. Smiling softly, if only a bit nervously, the younger boy closed the book he had been holding in his hands for the last few hours but hadn't been actually reading this whole period of time. He just couldn't, for it was simply impossible to concentrate. All this while he couldn't help thinking about his other half and what was going through his mind, and ultimately, what the... _outcome_ of Zero's earlier _visit_ would be...

He admitted, he was apprehensive. And that was another reason why he gave his twin his alone time, why he hadn't disturbed him or even spoken to him, save for the greetings and a few words they had exchanged upon Zero's arrival from his...journey.

But at this very moment, from merely seeing the expression on his brother's face, the anxiety he had been experiencing the whole day evaporated. And his heart that had started racing the moment his counterpart's quiet voice reached him calmed down. It felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, and unconsciously, Ichiru breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

It didn't go unnoticed by Zero and he gave the younger boy a reassuring smile before speaking again, "Dinner is ready. Let's go."

Ichiru's reply was an evidently happy and enthusiastic nod. He got up quickly and went to his twin's side, then gave him a tight hug that Zero returned. They stayed like that for a few long moments, the younger boy's face buried in the crook of his other half's neck as he inhaled his brother's scent deeply before pulling back and taking a hold of the older boy's hand, at first a little nervously, and then with renewed confidence. Ichiru's smile widening a little more, he tugged his twin after himself and they left their room, now headed for the kitchen.

But the younger boy's good mood didn't stay with him for long, because as soon as they reached their destination, he found there the one person he definitely didn't want to see, especially anywhere near his twin.

"The hell are _you_ doing here?" Ichiru asked harshly, clearly annoyed. Why did he have a feeling that it wasn't just a few minutes back that this pureblood had entered the house, but more than a couple of hours ago...? And he hadn't even noticed, too wrapped up in his musings. Which probably meant that... _Damn..._

Hearing the younger Kiryuu's exasperated tone made Kaname sigh inaudibly in resignation. Now why wasn't he surprised...?

"Good evening to you too, Ichiru-kun. It's a pleasure to see you, as always."

"Yeah, right." Ichiru scoffed, taking a seat in front of the brunet. "Answer the damn question."

Well, it looked like the boy's vocabulary of profanities had expanded by at least one more word during his absence. Briefly, Kaname wondered what more the younger Kiryuu could have in stock and whether it had affected his dear Yuuki after all.

But he left the matter for now, and another sigh escaped him before he replied, "I merely came here for a visit. It has been a while after all."

"In case you _still_ haven't noticed, Yuuki is not here, you know."

Kaname blinked, "I have noticed."

"Then _why_ are you _still_ here?"

The pureblood was quiet for a few seconds, looking at the younger boy calmly. Then a slyly pleasant smile came over his features slowly, "Am I not allowed to? Or are you not glad to see me? Even after all this time?" He decided to try teasing the other slightly.

One unimpressed silver eyebrow rose. "No, I'm not."

"How cold... You hurt my feelings, Ichiru-kun."

All he received in response was an irritated huff, and Kaname failed to stifle an amused chuckle that fell from his lips at that. And he wasn't alone in reacting like that, for his ears had certainly caught the similar sound escaping the older Kiryuu who stood at the counter not far from them.

"Zero!" Ah, apparently Ichiru had heard it as well, judging by that whine of his twin's name and the embarrassed blush that appeared on the younger boy's cheeks. Which evoked another chuckle from Zero that was responded with... Was it actually a _pout_ Kaname saw on Ichiru's face?

The brunet blinked in amused disbelief.

"Kaname, where's uncle Cross?" Zero's voice came as the boy placed the plates with their dinner on the table.

"He is asleep," the pureblood answered as he unwittingly followed the motions of the older twin's hands, one of which went to pat Ichiru's head softly in a casual manner. And any frown that was present on the boy's face disappeared in an instant as if it wasn't even there in the first place. From what Kaname could see, it was safe to say that Ichiru looked perfectly content now.

Again, just like a year and a half prior, the brunet couldn't help the wonder he felt at seeing how fast the younger Kiryuu's mood and expression visibly changed when it came to his brother.

"I thought it would be better not to bother him," Kaname continued distractedly. "He seemed rather tired when we spoke."

Zero gave a nod and a quiet hum in response. Then he proceeded to sit down next to his twin and the three started eating.

Another small smile made its way on the pureblood's lips after he took the first bite, his eyes softening and that nostalgic, longed-for warmth returning into his chest.

"How is it?"

Kaname looked up, and was met with the older twin's uncharacteristically hesitant, nervous gaze that shifted from him to Ichiru and back. Distracted by his thoughts, the brunet didn't quite comprehend what the question was about at first, until the younger Kiryuu gave his reply, complimenting the pie they were eating.

 _'Oh,'_ the brunet's eyes widened a fraction in realization. Of course.

"It's delicious, Zero-kun. I'm really enjoying it." Kaname said, smiling gently.

Relief was evident in the older twin's features, and he nodded contently, the faint frown his brows had been creased into disappearing, and the corners of his lips going up as well as he returned to his meal.

"Could have been even better without you here though," Ichiru mumbled sourly under his breath, loud enough for Kaname to catch it. Which was, quite obviously, the younger boy's exact intention.

"Ichiru..." Zero sighed, his tone scolding. But he failed to rid it of indulgence and natural fondness for his counterpart.

"You're so cruel, Ichiru-kun," Kaname feigned a hurt look – and a very convincing one, mind you – as he regarded the younger twin. "And here I hoped you missed me as well..."

"Yeah, right. Like hell I would," Ichiru snorted, silently cursing the pureblood in his head.

"You always shatter all my hopes so mercilessly." Kaname could barely suppress the smirk that was _begging_ to let it come across his twitching in amusement lips by now. The boy's expression was _that_ priceless. But Kaname guessed he was being a bit mean himself. Ah well, who could blame him?

"Now now..." the brunet started when he heard a string of curses muttered in his address, "That is just rude." And yet that smirk had already crept onto his face before he even realized it.

"Go to hell, you stupid pureblood." Ichiru threw at the other, now positively sulking.

In response to which Kaname only chuckled quietly and Zero heaved a sigh, before pulling his twin into a comforting embrace and patting his head once more, then giving the brunet vampire a reproachful look with poorly hidden traces of amusement in it.

The pureblood watched the two, not at all surprised when after only a few seconds Ichiru's mood and aura not so unexpectedly brightened, and the boy seemed rather content again. Kaname didn't notice how his smile faltered, and ignored another slight pang he felt. His gaze lowering to his plate, the young pureblood resumed eating quietly, refusing to look up.

Unconsciously, Kaname's hand went to his chest and he rubbed at it absently. He couldn't help wondering what that unpleasant feeling he was experiencing was. But no matter how hard he thought about it, no answer came to his mind. And so, once again, he left something else be. And, unsuspecting, he proceeded to enjoy the evening, ignoring the creeping uneasiness a part of him started to feel.


	5. Frozen Dawn

 

It wasn't until a certain event that took place some while later that Kaname finally realized. Or began to realize, at the very least. And quite frankly, he couldn't believe it.

It came as a shock, and naturally, the first thing he felt after that so-called revelation were serious and quite reasonable doubts. Then he started doubting those same doubts of his, and in the end, concluded that such a thing _was_ possible, no matter how unwilling he was to admit and accept it. Then it was turn of the denial to make an appearance. And denied it the pureblood did. Silently but vehemently, that was for sure.

But he failed. After a long period of time and a lot of efforts. So the next thing that came was... well, something akin to acceptance, maybe. Although tiny bits of doubts and denial still lingered within him, useless and meaningless as they were.

What he couldn't comprehend for the life of him though… How did it happen? When…? And more importantly… _why_? When he already had Yuuki and certainly didn't need anyone anymore… Or so he always thought. _Why_ on earth would his heart he had been sure he held in check play such a trick on him? Why would it want to throw him off balance like that? When…when did it start…? And what was he supposed to do from now on…?

Of course, it wasn't like his original plans had been ruined or anything, but… Something just didn't quite feel right. It wasn't the same as before anymore. Something in _him_ , in his very being, seemed to have changed a bit, and it kept changing further, little by little, imperceptibly, so that when he would finally take notice of what was happening, it would be too late to go back. It distracted him and made him falter. He didn't know what he should do about it, or what reaction was expected of him at that. It was the first time in his life that something so…unforeseen, uncalled for occurred. And in all honesty, he was at a loss. Completely so.

Kaname loathed feeling like that, _being_ like that. These emotions were…too foreign, too unpredictable. Not to mention the fact that they were absolutely undesired. The pureblood wanted them out of his soul, he wished to get rid of them, but it seemed like there was nothing he could do to make it happen. That, and he had no idea what he _should_ do to achieve that goal. And to tell the truth… He also wasn't so certain whether he really wanted those feelings to disappear altogether or not.

The only thing he knew for sure, however, was… He should have noticed everything sooner. Much, much sooner. Had he understood earlier… Maybe it wouldn't have been too late to prevent it from happening. And then everything would have been so much easier for him now…

A weary sigh fell from Kaname's lips, his eyes closing as he lifted his hand and let his fingers run through his tousled from sleep hair. No longer than a second later, another sigh, this one somewhat irritated, followed, and the brunet shifted his arm so that it was placed over his shut eyes.

The images from that one evening were still vivid in his mind. And they wouldn't go away no matter what he tried to erase them with.

He was a fool. He shouldn't have stayed, he shouldn't have gone there, and he sure as hell shouldn't have just remained standing by that door, very much guessing what had been about to occur. But something compelled him to do the opposite. His curiosity got the better of him, and it backfired splendidly. So he had no one to blame but himself.

A small, humorless smile tugged the corners of the pureblood's lips upwards, a derisive chuckle escaping him as one particular event of that night a little over two weeks ago played out before his covered eyes once more…

_Finally, it seemed like his dear girl was getting better. Her fever had dropped some, and she did look much better now in comparison to the state she had been in when the pureblood just arrived. So it was needless to say how unimaginably relieved Kaname was at the moment._

_He had been worried sick after receiving Cross's sudden call. And naturally, even before their conversation was fully over, the brunet was already out of the Ichijou manor – with hardly anyone there actually noticing his actions, to the young pureblood's credit – and on his way to the ex-hunter's house. He had run instead of taking the car like he usually did – It was faster that way, due to his inhuman speed that barely knew limits. Besides, Kaname seriously doubted he could have taken waiting for the chauffer to prepare everything for the trip and then just sit calmly in the vehicle doing nothing, so his choice of the way of transportation wasn't' so surprising._

_It wasn't long before he arrived at his destination, having used an unthinkable speed to get there yet not even breaking a sweat in the process. Straight away, the brunet went to his precious girl's room to see for himself how she was doing, all the while ignoring Cross's surprise and worry without a second thought – Yuuki being the only thing occupying his mind at the time._

_Admittedly, he had been blinded by panic during those moments, but it started evaporating soon enough, for thankfully, the situation wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. And it looked like his presence was helping too, so Kaname stayed, for as long as Yuuki wanted him to._

_A few hours had passed by now, and the brunet girl continued drifting between sleep and consciousness during that whole period of time. But the pureblood could tell her condition had improved, even if just a little, and it brought an immense amount of absolute relief to him. Although, of course, he was still a bit agitated and definitely worried for his dear Yuuki._

_Thus, he was still here, at Cross's living quarters, currently going down the hallway back to his precious girl's room from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand for her. And Kaname would have proceeded going his merry way as he was, if it wasn't for the soft, all too familiar voice that suddenly caught his attention, sounding to be not so far away from where he was._

_"Come on, Ichiru," it spoke, gently scolding, an indulgent smile apparent in it, "Keep still, or I won't be able to finish at this rate…"_

_It was answered with a barely audible whine, half-hearted at best, soon followed by a light-heartedly sulky 'Fine, fine…' and as expected, Kaname easily recognized the voice and its tone as the younger Kiryuu twin, indeed. Then there came the rustling of a fabric, along with some sort of rubbing sounds. And judging by the subtle scent of soap and shampoo coming from the twins' room, the pureblood guessed what he heard was Zero drying his brother's hair with a towel. And sure enough, his assumption was proven right when he came to stand near the partly open door._

_There, on the bed were sitting two identical figures, probably getting ready to go to sleep if them wearing their night attire was anything to go by. Ichiru's back was to Zero as the older boy's hands worked gently on toweling his counterpart's hair._

_Kaname stood unmoving, watching yet another moment of the shared intimacy between the two boys attentively for a few long moments, before averting his gaze unwittingly, suddenly finding the forgotten glass in his hand to be the most interesting thing in the world. The pureblood was more than used to seeing such displays of mutual trust and affection from the silver-haired twins by now, after all these years that had passed, and he had already learned to simply accept it, but the uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling he got each time seeing such sights was another matter altogether. No matter how accustomed he was to experiencing it, Kaname still had trouble dealing with it, and even more so with comprehending what it was exactly. Although something told him that, perhaps, it was for the better. So the brunet let it be – something he had been doing for quite a long period of time already._

_He had wanted to greet the two, as they hadn't met tonight yet, despite the fact that the pureblood had spent the last three or so hours in the house. However, right now any thought of it left him, as it seemed like such an action would be nothing more than an interruption. So Kaname remained where he was, currently contemplating walking away and wondering why he still hadn't done so._

_Unsurprisingly, the brunet vampire came up with no answer. And after staying in place for another short while, he made up his mind and already began moving away from the silver-haired boys' room when that same voice that had made him stray from his original destination stopped him in his tracks once more. Involuntarily, the pureblood's garnet eyes focused on the younger individuals anew._

_"Your hair has grown some more again…" Kaname heard Zero say absent-mindedly to his brother, "Do you want to get it cut soon?"_

_Ichiru hummed softly, raising his hand and taking a hold of a few silver strands, letting his fingers play with it distractedly before coming up with a verbal reply for his counterpart, "Nah, it's still fine. It's not much of a nuisance yet."_

_"Okay," the older Kiryuu replied, smiling softly and resuming his task of drying the other's hair carefully. "But if it gets any longer, it'll be all the easier for everyone to tell us apart, you know. For the teachers too." A twinkle of mischievousness flashed through the older twin's eyes while the younger one emitted a long-suffering groan, his head rolling back and falling onto his brother's shoulder. "Which will put an end to you skipping some classes and getting away with it, Ichiru."_

_The younger boy gave a slight shrug, "Whatever. It's their fault for being idiots and confusing us in the first place. You won't make me feel remorse for deceiving them."_

_"I know," Zero chuckled lightly. "And I'm not trying to."_

_The older boy resumed his actions when the weight of Ichiru's head on his shoulder disappeared, and the two lapsed into comfortable silence once more. But soon enough it was broken, by the younger Kiryuu this time._

_"…One girl confessed to me today," the boy blurted out, matter-of-factly, and Kaname's eyes widened a fraction in slight surprise. Well, that was some sudden statement. But not to Zero, it seemed, as the older hunter's weak reaction suggested._

_"Oh?" Was all he said, never stopping the movements of his fingers._

_"But I rejected her."_

_"Again? Really, Ichiru, how many does that make now? You didn't make this one cry, I hope?" Kaname raised an eyebrow at the boy's words, now understanding his previous lack of response._

_"She was too persistent. And too annoying."_

_"You say it about every one of them," the older Kiryuu replied, his tone scolding. Then a tired sigh fell from his lips._

_"Well, this one was worse," Ichiru mumbled to himself, but of course, Zero caught it._

_"How so?"_

_"…She thought I was you." At that, Zero halted in his actions momentarily. But he recovered in no time, and soon proceeded with his self-appointed task._

_"Oh… Is that so…" Kaname was positive he had heard some uneasiness in the older twin's voice, although, admittedly, it had been masked rather well._

_"Mm," Ichiru nodded slowly. "And I didn't try to correct her mistake," the younger Kiryuu paused briefly to let out a huff of annoyance, "What an idiot."_

_"Ichiru…" Another sigh, this one resigned, sounded from Zero when his brother didn't respond in any way and simply remained silent. Now done with tending to his twin's hair, the older hunter put the towel aside while Ichiru leaned back and made himself comfortable against his chest, the younger boy's head already reclaimed its place on his shoulder._ _Zero's arms automatically encircling his brother's middle, he heaved another sigh._

_"You should apologize to her," the older twin said, his tone gentle but unyielding. A half-whine half-groan sounded from his counterpart, and Zero added, now more firmly, "I mean it, Ichiru."_

_"Ugh…" the younger Kiryuu grunted in obvious discontent at the prospect, and turned slightly in his other half's embrace, his face burying into the crook of the older boy's neck. Unconsciously, he sniffed the smooth skin there, then nuzzled it lazily, affectionately, before letting out a soft sigh and stealing a languid lick at the familiarly-tasting warm surface._

_"Ichiru…" Zero uttered the name warningly. He refused to let his brother brush this one off._

_Another sigh, resigned this time. Then the younger boy spoke, "Okay, I got it. I'll do it." His gaze shifted to his twin's face, "Happy now?"_

_A smile made its way on Zero's lips. Giving a small nod, he patted Ichiru's head, a soft hum of content escaping him._

_"That's right, Ichiru…" the older of the two spoke again after a couple of minutes of silence, "I'm going to visit them in a few days again and… Um…" Kaname raised an elegant eyebrow at how unusually uncertain Zero's voice became, "Do you…want to… I mean, would y-"_

_"No." Ichiru replied, cutting his brother off and pulling away from the older boy wordlessly. At that, the brunet's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He had never heard Ichiru use such a cold tone when speaking to Zero. Although the younger twin didn't maintain it for long, as expected. The next second the boy turned around to face his counterpart, meeting the other's eyes apologetically, guilt flickering in his amethyst orbs momentarily, "I…I'm sorry, nii-san, but…I…" Ichiru trailed off, his gaze dropping._

_It was quiet for another few moments, until Zero let out a soft sigh, then his voice sounded again, a weak smile evident in it, "It's okay," pale hand went to pat silver hair gently, "I understand, really. Don't worry about it, Ichiru."_

_The younger boy nodded quietly, lavender eyes still lowered. Then slowly, he moved forward and enclosed his counterpart in a hug, fitting his head into the crook of Zero's neck snugly once more and exhaling another contented sigh. Automatically, the older Kiryuu's hands settled on Ichiru's back, and he began patting it comfortingly. They stayed like that for some time, during which none spoke a word. Only when the younger twin's agitation – which Kaname couldn't help but take note of – evaporated some, did the boy's quiet voice sound again._

_"Listen, Zero…" Ichiru started, somewhat distractedly and a tad hesitantly._

_"Hm?"_

_"I…I'm sorry."_

_"I know. And I already said it's okay, didn't I?" Zero replied, smiling faintly. "Don't worry about it."_

_"No, it's not that, I mean…" the boy paused, drawing a long, shaky breath, "I am_ sorry _." His hold on his brother tightened while Zero's hand stopped its caressing motions, now frozen in place on Ichiru's almost imperceptibly stiffened back._

_A small frown appeared on the pureblood's features as he watched the scene unfold before him. He had never heard the younger Kiryuu use that kind of tone, or behave that way… He couldn't help but wonder what the two were…_

_"…I know…" Zero's whispered voice sounded, tearing Kaname from his thoughts once more. The boy resumed caressing his twin's back slowly, if only a bit stiffly at first. "I know…" he repeated, even more quietly._

_Ichiru took a deep breath, further burying his face into Zero's neck. He continued inhaling his twin's familiar, comforting scent, unconsciously relaxing into the embrace more. But along with calmness came another reaction, one that the younger Kiryuu had by now gotten more than accustomed to. His heart rate quickened, that well-known burning of thirst returned, and Ichiru nuzzled his counterpart's throat, his arms tightening their hold involuntarily as he brought the warm body before him closer._

_"Ichiru..." Zero whispered, having obviously recognized the signs, more than used to them after so much time. He didn't push his brother away, the thought of it hardly even crossed his mind, but the doubt in his voice was detectable nevertheless. "Wait, Kaname is-" the said brunet's heart leaped in his chest at the utterance of his name. For a second there, he thought he had been found, even though he had made sure to conceal his presence properly, the best he could, which usually worked even with Zero and his exceptionally sharp hunter senses. But as the older Kiryuu continued, the pureblood realized he was worrying for nothing, to his greatest relief, "He will-"_

_"Smell the blood?" Having received an uncertain nod, Ichiru resumed speaking, "It's okay, he's with Yuuki. And he won't care either way. It's not like it's any of his business."_

_'Indeed…' Kaname thought belatedly. But even if his mind was saying that and actually agreeing with the younger twin, something inside of him screamed in protest. And that unpleasant, nameless feeling was back again. The young pureblood resisted the urge to rub at his chest._

_"Right?" Ichiru's inquiry pulled Kaname's attention back to the two in the room. Zero answered to his twin's question with another hesitant nod, and the brunet vampire couldn't help but feel a slight pang in his chest at that response, no matter how true it was._

_A smile tugged the corners of the younger Kiryuu's lips upwards, and without wasting any more time, he returned his undivided attention to the pale column in front of his eyes that were slowly changing from lilac to hungry red. Giving a few experimental licks, Ichiru began preparing the skin, against which Zero didn't protest. On the contrary, without an ounce of second thought, he tilted his head to the side, allowing his counterpart a more easy access to his neck. For which the younger twin was thankful, and he accepted the invitation accordingly._

_As though entranced, Kaname looked on silently, never averting his gaze or even blinking as he watched the scene. He was simply unable to._

_And then he froze, paralyzed by the two burning orbs that locked with his garnet ones all of a sudden. His eyes widened as they continued to stare at him dead on, unwavering and taunting. The corners of Ichiru's mouth went up slowly, forming a mocking smirk that lingered on the boy's features for no longer than a fraction of a second, before disappearing as the pale pink lips parted and drew back to bare the rapidly extending canines. Crimson eyes that had stayed on him only for a couple of seconds slid shut as their owner lowered his head and lost himself in the red liquid that filled his mouth when his fully aroused fangs pierced the slender throat of his willing donor hungrily._

_A cold, unpleasant shiver ran down Kaname's spine at the muffled groan of content that sounded from the younger twin the moment he performed the act. Then the brunet's already rigid form stiffened further as the heady aroma of Zero's blood reached his senses and began teasing it mercilessly. Red sharpened his vision for a split second, enhancing his awareness of everything around him._

_For another short while that seemed to be so much longer than it really was, Kaname remained where he was, his attention completely captured by the picture the two boys made._ _Which, for some reason, he didn't like to have in front of his eyes at all…_

_The next thing he knew, everything became a blur. And he was out of the house and running into the night. Belatedly, the pureblood noticed the slight stinging in his hand and caught the scent of his own blood. He didn't need to inspect it to know what was the cause, as he could feel the water on his skin along with tiny shards of glass imbedded in it, so it wasn't so hard to guess._

_But he ignored his self-inflicted – albeit unwittingly – injury, well aware of the fact that it would disappear in less than a couple of moments due to his pureblood healing. Never stopping or looking back, the brunet vampire continued his sprint, seeing and remembering of nothing but the last image he had caught of the silver-haired twins._

_Only after another minute or so, slowly, Kaname came to a halt. His form stiff and burgundy eyes widened in what appeared to be bewilderment and disbelief, gaze cast down, staring at the ground unseeingly._

_It was only now that realization dawned on him…_

_And he couldn't believe what a fool he was._

**-o-**

It had been bugging her for a long while now. She was curious to know what was going on, but at the same time, she had an unpleasant feeling that if she were to find out the truth, she wouldn't like it. So in spite of the fact that she really did want to receive answers to her unvoiced questions, in reality, she was apprehensive of getting them. She had asked once, when it occurred the first time – and probably exactly when it began. But it led nowhere, like a few other times. So eventually, she had stopped asking her inquiries altogether, having realized that it was pointless anyway.

Nevertheless, she couldn't help wondering about it. And all kinds of wild thoughts and impossible theories came to her curious, young thirteen-year old mind, thus intriguing and scaring her out of finding the truth all the more. But she was still worried… What if her favorite adopted brother was being bullied? Or worse, hurting himself? She had heard of such…cases. What if something was wrong? Did the others know about the cause? Cross and Ichiru…and maybe even her Kaname-sama?

At least that was what immediately came to mind when the said pureblood kept staring so intently at the bandages that were, yet again, wrapped around Zero's neck. They had become something of a regular occurrence by now. And it certainly wasn't the first time the pureblood saw them, too. So, taking it into account, it was even harder not to notice how the older brunet's eyes were practically glued to those bandages, and had been for the past minute or so – the girl doubted he had even heard what she had been saying, judging by how focused he was on the silver-haired boy's nape.

Why was the brunet vampire so interested in those bandages? Did it mean that he knew the reason why they were there, and it was something bad? Something to be concerned about? The look that appeared in his eyes, the one that Yuuki couldn't quite understand or process yet, surely suggested so…

What…what was happening…?

"A school?" Ichiru's voice sounded, unhappy as ever, distracting the auburn-haired girl from her far from positive thoughts. Having received a nod and an affirmative hum from the one he was talking to, the younger twin continued, "For _vampires_?"

" _And_ humans. For co-existence," Cross replied, cheerful and happy as ever. Excitement was almost literally oozing from him, obviously making the younger twin's already grumpy enough – due to early hours – mood all the worse.

Ichiru raised an eyebrow while Zero resumed his task, still not turning from the chopping board and their soon-to-be breakfast. "And it's relevant because…?" He knew the answer to his question and had already guessed where the blond man was going with it for the most part, but it was too early for his liking and so he was being a bit cranky. Or not so a bit. But he knew Zero would stop him when he thought he was getting overboard, so it was alright. Ah, he loved being spoiled by his dear brother.

"Ah, come on, Ichirun," the younger Kiryuu's brow twitched at that… _nickname_ -likething Cross _loved_ calling him. And his twin too, with his own version of it. "You already know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"

Of course he did. He wasn't stupid. And he already knew some of Cross's antics and methods too well. Still, his answer was a blunt, "No."

In response to which the ex-hunter, ever the Drama Queen, gave him another one of his kicked-puppy looks, full with sad eyes and crocodile tears – the whole package, in other words. Too bad for the man, it didn't work on Ichiru – or on either of those currently present in the room. Fleetingly, the younger Kiryuu wondered if it _ever_ worked on _anyone_ at all.

"You're such a bully, Ichirun," he fake-wiped non-existent tears, "treating your daddy so coldly."

One unimpressed silver eyebrow rose on Ichiru's side, while Zero suppressed a chuckle, glad that he wasn't a part of that conversation due to being busy with cooking, and Kaname hid an amused smirk.

Having received nothing but silence from the younger boy, Cross continued, miraculously recovered and impossibly cheery again, all of a sudden, "Anyway. I'd like you all to go there when you're older. How do you look at it?" Ichiru opened his mouth to retort, but the ex-hunter beat him to it with his excited ramble, "Oh, it will be wonderful! I can't wait to see that happen! I can already imagine how the uniform will look like, and it'll suit you all so well! I also plan to make you three the prefects and…"

At that point Ichiru simply drowned out the man's voice, having realized that all and any arguments he had were pretty much pointless, as they would fall on deaf ears – it was Cross after all.

A long-suffering sigh fell from the younger Kiryuu's lips. He was already exhausted. From merely talking to that blond _wonder_ for a little over ten minutes. He should have just stayed in bed. Why had he even bothered to get up? Oh yeah, that same _wonder_ was the one who had woken him up and then dragged him into the kitchen for their 'family breakfast'.

Yeah, right, _'family'_. Then why the hell was _he_ here with them?

Ichiru's gaze slid to Kaname at that thought, his irritation increasing, especially so when he caught where the pureblood's gaze was directed to.

"And why are _you_ here? At _this_ hour?" the younger twin spoke to the male brunet, having already forgotten and dismissed Cross along with their still seemingly on-going – at least from the ex-hunter's side – conversation. There was a pitiful whine of his name somewhere in the background that suspiciously sounded like the said blond man, but Ichiru easily ignored it, his attention now on Kaname.

"I came for breakfast, of course," the brunet replied, unfazed, appearing calm and collected as ever, a polite smile on his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping in your coffin or something?" Yuuki's angry exclamation of his name was disregarded by the younger Kiryuu.

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't have one," Kaname's smile widened a bit as he turned his gaze to the older twin, whose amethyst eyes were also on him at the moment, "And I just couldn't pass the opportunity to have some of Zero-kun's cooking, now could I?" He caught a hint of a soft smile before the hunter went back to his task, and his heart skipped a beat, pleasant warmth spreading in his chest. The pureblood returned his attention to Ichiru, a little flustered – oddly – but concealing it rather well. He was really grateful that he had mastered the skills of hiding his emotions to perfection. "Besides, I had some business to discuss with Cross-san."

" _'Business'_?" the silver-haired boy turned to the ex-hunter, who sat near him with a goofy grin plastered on his face, his gaze skeptical, "With _him_?" 'With _that_?' was what Ichiru actually wanted to say, but he refrained from doing it, lest they would have to put up with another portion of the man's wailing.

"What's with that disbelieving tone, Ichirun?" Cross pouted, "Like you don't have faith in me..." he trailed off sulkily.

"I don't."

" _Ichiruuuuun_!"

"Zero and Yuuki too," the younger twin added matter-of-factly. And the two mentioned teens didn't rush to protest or correct him.

"How cruel…" the blond man feigned sobbing dramatically before turning to the brunet vampire, "Did you hear that, Kaname-kun? My very own cute children don't love their poor father in the slightest… Ah, what have I done to deserve such a terrible fate?"

The pureblood gave him a polite smile, replying a little uneasily, "I am certain that is not true. Of course Ichiru-kun didn't mean what he said…"

"I sure as hell did."

"Of course he didn't!" here it was Yuuki's turn to jump in. It kind of became her job to reassure – and fool – the old man when it became like this. Which was often since Cross did have a tendency to get rather annoying. "Ichiru is just being a jerk because it's morning and he is cranky. We all love you very much!" When the ex-hunter's puppy-eyed look still stayed on her with clear expectancy in it, she had no choice but to continue, "D-…daddy…" she mumbled in a much quieter voice, a small blush on her cheeks.

Which evoked a delighted squeal from Cross and an amused chuckle from Kaname, while the two silver-haired boys chose to remain silent and stay out of it. But only one of them was allowed that luxury.

"Really?" Cross asked, first directing his inquiry at Yuuki and then, having received a meek nod from her, at Zero, who had come to the table to place dishes with their meal on it.

"…" the older Kiryuu stood there silently, one plate still in his hand as the ex-hunter's question made him halt in his actions momentarily. He looked at the blond wonder that was their legal guardian, before his gaze flickered to his adopted sister's begging eyes for a couple of seconds. Then his attention returned to Cross, and a small sigh escaped him at the hopeful expression he was met with. Honestly tired of this farce that was becoming some kind of tradition for them already, Zero conceded and gave the older man a silent nod, which was immediately answered with another high-pitched squeal, and the ex-hunter was lost to them as he began mumbling to himself some nonsense about his 'precious little babies and how adorable they were' while swaying in his seat like an idiot that he was.

"Was it about that school?" Zero's voice sounded, startling Kaname a little as he realized that the question was directed at him.

"Oh, yes," he paused to murmur a soft 'thank you' when the silver-haired hunter put his plate in front of him. The corners of the brunet's lips went up slightly as he took a slow breath, mentally humming at the delicious smell coming from the food. Ah, he missed it. And it looked like Zero chose to make him his favorite too… "It's a joint project. We have been working on it for the last few years, and it should be completed soon."

The older twin hummed thoughtfully, taking his seat at the table, having finished serving with the help of his brother.

"Will you be going there too then, Kaname-sama?" Yuuki chirped in, obviously hoping for an affirmative answer, which she received in the form of the brunet vampire's nod.

"Too bad you won't be able to attend it for another couple of years, huh, Yuuki?" Ichiru said, smirking smugly. He just couldn't miss the opportunity to ruffle his adopted sister's feathers a bit – it was too much fun to pass up.

The auburn-haired girl didn't offer a verbal answer to it, merely pouting briefly before sticking out her tongue at the younger Kiryuu.

"How unladylike," Ichiru scoffed. "Are you sure you should behave like that in front of your _beloved 'Kaname-sama'_?"

Yuuki's eyes widened, her face brightening to tomato red in embarrassment and expression turning mortified as she realized her savior was present in the room and actually sat right next to her. Her head bowing, the girl muttered a quiet _'Jerk'_ , obviously referring to Ichiru, who only smirked in response and started eating contently.

Little did the girl know that she was flustered for no reason. Because Kaname was, yet again, too distracted gazing at her favorite adopted brother to pay her attention.

**-o-**

"What is this?" Zero asked, turning his lavender eyes from the small gray box in his palm back to the pureblood in front of him, who was ready to leave as they stood in the hallway and the silver-haired boy saw the brunet out.

"Those are for Ichiru-kun. It's blood tablets," Kaname replied, continuing when the young hunter gave him an inquiring look, "They are artificial blood, for quenching bloodlust."

"Oh...I've never heard of them."

"It's a recent invention. They are a part of the co-existence project, for the vampires who will be attending the school Cross-san was talking about."

"I see…" Zero trailed off, looking at the metallic casing contemplatively before fixing his gaze on the pureblood anew, a slight smile lifting the corners of his lips, "Thanks, Kaname, but…Ichiru doesn't really need them. You know that, right?"

"…I do," the brunet finally answered, his gaze flickering to the bandages on the younger boy's neck involuntarily. He knew it _too well_. Even prior to _that_ night a month and a half ago."That is the reason I'm asking you to give this to him. It's dangerous, Zero-kun," Kaname's expression was stern, a hint of concern evident in his garnet orbs, "You can't keep giving your blood to him. Your brother's bloodlust will continue to intensify and it _will_ make him drain you one day. Until he is stabilized, it-"

"He is," the pureblood's eyes widened at the words Zero cut him off with, "He _is_ stabilized already, Kaname. From the very beginning."

"What…? But…" _'How?'_ was left unsaid, but it hardly needed to be voiced, as that question was written all over the vampire's features.

Yet Zero refrained from granting Kaname the answers he wanted to know. The silver-haired boy merely gave him another soft smile of his, before coming closer to the older male and taking a hold of one of his hands.

The pureblood stiffened at the contact slightly, but he did a good job of concealing it, so Zero stayed blissfully unaware of his companion's mild discomfort. When the hunter had Kaname's hand in his, he turned it palm up and put the metallic box in it, then closed the brunet's long fingers around it, "Thank you, Kaname, really. But it's okay." He stepped back, and the pureblood found himself missing the contact already. "Ichiru won't hurt me. And you know that too."

"…Yes," the vampire admitted, however reluctantly. Because it was the truth. He knew _how much_ Ichiru loved his twin. But still…

"Besides, it's not like I mind it. The only problem is the bitemarks," Zero's fingers went to his neck and unconsciously brushed against the spot his counterpart had bitten into, "They're a real pain in the ass. Everyone at school gets the wrong idea because of them." He could tell from the funny looks that were often directed at him when he had the bandages wrapped around his neck.

"Oh," a genuine smile made it onto Kaname's lips, soon turning into a subtly sly smirk as an idea came to him. He leaned down a bit so that he was almost on the same eye level as the younger teen, "Well then, I can help you with that."

"Huh?" Zero's brows rose, his eyes widening slightly.

"If you give me your permission, of course."

"But… _how_ will you…?" He was really curious, and it showed in his lilac orbs.

"You will see," the pureblood's smirk widened a bit, he could feel his heart starting to race in excitement, "So, may I?"

Zero regarded him for a few seconds, and, thinking that there was no harm in trying, shrugged his shoulders and then gave a nod.

Having received what he had been eagerly waiting for, Kaname gave a nod of his own, smiling reassuringly, and got on with his task. He raised his hand to the silver-haired boy's neck, letting his fingertips brush it briefly, and removed the clip from the bandage before loosening and then taking it off altogether.

The silver-haired boy stood still all this time, only watching the other's every move carefully, like the trained hunter he was. But as the pureblood began to lower his head towards his throat, Zero couldn't help the stiffening of his form. On instinct, he moved to step back, but Kaname's hold, firm yet surprisingly gentle, on his upper arms stopped him.

Then the brunet spoke, his voice quiet and soothing, "Don't worry. I won't bite, I promise…" He didn't move a muscle for the next couple of seconds, until the older Kiryuu gave him a slow nod, his frame now less rigid, but still not quite relaxed. And it stiffened even further when the boy felt warm breath ghost over the skin of his neck, sending small shivers down Zero's spine. Then something warm and wet made contact with his flesh, right where the two bitemarks were, and the hunter failed to suppress a sharp gasp of surprise, along with a rapidly spreading blush that had crept onto his face the instant the boy realized what exactly the pureblood was currently doing.

Automatically, Zero's hands shot up to clutch at the older teen's arms as he tried to move away once again. But like the last time, the attempt was unsuccessful – the only thing it did was evoking an amused chuckle from Kaname and causing the said male to tighten his hold. Now beet red, the silver-haired boy stuttered out the pureblood's name, his head bowing low and heart nearly jumping from his chest. To say that he was mortified beyond belief would be an understatement.

Zero's embarrassment was emanating from him in waves, and Kaname couldn't help the small chuckles that kept escaping him as he pulled back slightly, now that he was finished with his task, but still maintained close proximity just to tease the younger boy some more. He didn't relax his grip on Zero yet, unable to deny himself the luxury of being a bit mean to the hunter, who was adamantly refusing to meet his gaze at the moment.

His smirk widening, Kaname leaned forward once more, his lips mere inches from the hunter's flushed ear as he whispered, "Here, all healed." And it was true. But Zero hardly could be bothered by the now non-existent bitemarks.

Another chuckle sounded from the pureblood when he straightened up and released his hold on the younger boy, all the while regarding him carefully. The youth's hand immediately shot to that same ear the brunet had just spoken into to cover it, his head still bowed and amethyst orbs hidden from view, bright blush never disappearing. Needless to say, Kaname liked the sight immensely and he enjoyed every second of it to the fullest.

"I will see you soon then," the pureblood turned to the door, "Good night, Zero-kun. Sweet dreams..."

And so he left, disappearing into the night and leaving a speechless Zero behind.


	6. First Bits

A thin silver eyebrow rose as Ichiru watched his reflection walk into the room and go through and out of it at a brisk pace, evidently flustered and never lifting his gaze.

The first thing the younger Kiryuu noticed was the impossibly red blush adorning his brother's face from ear to ear and even spreading to his neck. The second thing he couldn't help silently noting was how Zero kept his hand pressed to one of his flushed ears. And the third thing that caught his attention and rose most suspicions…the bandages that had been wrapped around his twin's neck just a few minutes ago now weren't there, but were clutched in his counterpart's other hand instead. However, it wasn't the main reason why it captured Ichiru's attention so, no. It was the fact that the bitemarks, the ones _his fangs_ had left, had disappeared. Miraculously and inexplicably. Even though the younger Kiryuu knew that they weren't supposed to fade away until another few days or so, as it was only recently that he had given them to Zero's delicious throat.

And considering the fact that his twin had just returned after seeing Kuran off… It wasn't surprising that Ichiru immediately suspected the pureblood's involvement in it. And he did _not_ like it. Just like he didn't like anything that had something to do with that vampire.

He had long noticed the way Kaname was looking at his dear brother, the way he behaved around him – all those sickeningly sweet smiles and subtle gestures, those glances he threw Zero's way every so often. Of course, Cross and Yuuki were merrily oblivious to it, the two blessed, happy-go-lucky idiots that they were. Ichiru suspected even the pureblood himself didn't always manage to catch himself on doing it, but the younger twin wasn't a fool, neither was he blind. And he was very good at observing and noting things and changes, especially when it concerned his other half, who was more precious to him than anything in the world.

Ichiru had noticed all that and he loathed it. Thankfully though, his brother, ever the naïve softy, was yet to find out about it, and the younger teen certainly hoped that it would stay that way for as long as possible.

But after that strange…display Ichiru had witnessed…After whatever it was that _Kuran_ had done…

The younger Kiryuu wasn't so sure that it would be the case anymore. And about that, too, he was _not_ happy. For reasons he refused to state even to himself in his mind.

Getting up from his favorite place in the armchair in the living room, Ichiru headed into the kitchen where Zero had disappeared to just moments ago. Upon entering the room, he found his older brother standing by the counter washing dishes diligently, seeming to be immersed deep in thought. So much so that he even failed to notice his twin's presence. That alone was enough to make Ichiru's brows crease in a frown of concern.

Something inside of him stirred. He was getting anxious.

Quietly, the younger boy approached his other half and hugged him from behind, releasing a long, deep sigh and letting his weight rest on Zero's back. The older Kiryuu stopped his movements immediately, startled from his musings, tensing slightly at first before relaxing easily after a second, giving a sigh of his own as a small smile lifted his lips.

"What's wrong, Ichiru?" Zero asked softly, sensing his twin's uneasiness. He returned to his task, feeling much calmer now. It was his counterpart's presence that had this comforting effect on him.

Ichiru's arms tightened around his brother's middle and he buried his face in the nape of Zero's neck, inhaling his twin's familiar, calming scent. It had become yet another habit of his to do so.

The younger Kiryuu sighed again. Then he spoke lazily, his voice slightly muffled by Zero's neck, "Hey, Zero-nii…" Ah, the older boy knew _that_ tone very well. Ichiru always used it when he wanted to ask something of him. And Zero thought he already knew what exactly it would be. "Let's skip tomorrow's practice. I really would rather do something more fun on our day off school." Yep, just as Zero thought. Now why wasn't he surprised? Although he couldn't say that he didn't understand Ichiru's reluctance.

But still, "Ichiru..." he wouldn't concede this time around. "I know you don't want to go there, and I do know _why_ , but we can't just miss it. Yagari-shishou will be pissed." _Royally_ , Zero mentally added.

"Yeah, I know," Ichiru replied matter-of-factly. Then a mischievous smirk made its way on his lips, "Wouldn't you like to see that?"

"No." _Hell no_.

"Come on, I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Yeah, right. Stop avoiding the subject."

"I'm not," Ichiru turned his head to press his cheek to his twin's warm skin. "There's no 'subject' anyway."

"Okay, I got it." They would drop that part then. "But we're _not_ skipping our training tomorrow. Or ever," the older boy said, looking at his reflection sternly over his shoulder. Ichiru didn't really see _the look_ his brother gave him, but he could picture it way too well in his head, as he felt its full intensity. "Besides, maybe he has changed and stopped being the jerk he was back then."

Ichiru snorted. "Yeah, right. And pigs can fly and vamps drink tomato juice instead of blood."

"Ichiru…"

The younger Kiryuu let out a quiet groan of discontent. He tightened his hold again and leaned on Zero further, mumbling, "Okay, okay. I understand."

A soft smile along with a simple nod were given to Ichiru as a response. That, too, he couldn't see, but he felt that his twin's gaze on him softened. And that was enough.

Ichiru closed his eyes and nuzzled the nape of Zero's neck, inhaling the older boy's scent once more. He hadn't forgotten about Kaname or about the mysterious disappearance of the bitemarks on his brother's neck, but he felt it would be better not to bring it up, especially now. It didn't matter anyway. Besides, he didn't want to remind Zero about it unnecessarily.

For which the older twin was grateful.

**-o-**

"Ichiru!" Zero's distressed voice sounded as he dropped the gun in his hand and ran to his twin who had slumped to his knees with a barely suppressed cry of pain.

"What the hell, Kaito!" the older Kiryuu shouted at the ash brown-haired hunter who was approaching them at a relaxed pace, seemingly unaffected by what just happened.

"Whatever are you talking about, Zero?" Takamiya Kaito replied, stopping in a couple of meters from the Kiryuu twins who were kneeling on the ground, the older hugging the younger protectively while unconsciously trying to shield as much of his brother from the other hunter as possible.

"Don't play dumb with me," Zero said angrily, his eyes narrowing into a dark glare. "You threw a freaking _knife_ at him!"

"So?" Kaito gave an uncaring shrug. "That was the point of our training, remember?"

"Cut the crap," lavender eyes narrowed further, "You didn't even hold back! What the hell were you thinking about?"

"Overprotective as ever, aren't you, Zero? You've always been such a softie," the older teen scoffed, his lips pulling into a derisive sneer.

"I'm serious, Kaito."

"So am I. There's no point in training if you're not being _serious_ about it. And besides," the ash brown-haired hunter paused, his cold hazel eyes turning to Ichiru, taunting, "it's _his_ fault for not dodging it."

Another pair of amethyst orbs narrowed dangerously, a low growl escaping the younger Kiryuu. In response to which Kaito only smirked mockingly before speaking, "Still as clumsy as ever, I see." The hunter ignored Zero's sharp call of his name and continued, "And just as spoiled by your big bro. Huh, Ichiru?"

"Why you bas-" Ichiru's eyes flashed red for a split second as he lunged forward sharply, baring his elongated from anger fangs.

Kaito's reaction was immediate.

Without a hint of hesitation, the dark-haired hunter pulled out his gun and pointed it at the younger Kiryuu. But his target didn't stay where it was for long, as Zero promptly shielded his counterpart and took his place under the barrel of the anti-vampire weapon, effectively stopping Ichiru in his tracks.

Kaito narrowed his cold eyes. "Don't get in my way, _Zero_. You saw his reaction. _He_ provoked me."

 _'Yeah, right,'_ both twins mentally hissed. "Put _that_ away, Kaito," Zero said instead, referring to the gun that was still pointed at him and glaring at the older teen angrily. "You don't need it."

"I sure as hell do," his gaze flickered behind Zero for a brief second, "Especially when _he_ is around."

"Ichiru is-"

"He is one of _them_ now, Zero! I don't understand how _you_ can be so calm about it! There's a limit to how naïve you can be, dammit!"

"I'm not!" Zero snapped, having had enough, "And it's none of your business! You don't know anything!"

Kaito opened his mouth to give a retort of his own, but no word left him as all of a sudden, he stiffened for a split second before regaining his composure and throwing one of the knives strapped to his thigh somewhere to the side. The gun also changed its target in split second. It was the fastest the twins had ever seen him move.

And it was no wonder _why_.

"Kaname…?" Zero's uncertain voice sounded as he looked over his shoulder at the obviously distressed pureblood. His usually burgundy orbs now held a reddish tint to them as he gazed at Kaito intently, eyes narrowed and expression grim, his aura somewhat agitated. In his hand was a knife the older hunter had thrown his way seconds ago, stopped by Kaname moments before it managed to embed itself in his neck. But it looked like it was the last thing that bothered the brunet vampire. He just disregarded the blade, tossing it to the side uncaringly, never averting his gaze from the three hunters before him, and especially from the one he didn't know but already disliked.

Unconsciously, Kaname took a step forward, his attention fixed on the unknown teen. The red in his eyes brightened, but it settled down after only a few moments as the pureblood was pulled out from his daze by a relatively familiar gruff voice coming from behind him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Yagari sounded, obviously far from being happy. His posture seemed relaxed, but just like the first time Kaname had met him, his hand was already on his gun, and he was ready to take it out and shoot any second.

When no response followed, the number one hunter spoke again, more irritation clear in his tone, "I'm waiting. Answer me, you stupid brats."

Kaname's brow twitched at the older man's words. He was _not_ just referred to as one of the 'brats', was he?

"…It's nothing," Kaito said after another short while of silence, lowering his weapon and putting it away. "Just a small accident during training. And Ichiru being his usual clumsy," he ignored Zero's sharp call of his name in the background and continued, a mocking smirk lifting his lips, "weak self. As I said, nothing serious."

Yagari's eye narrowed in suspicion. He had taken in the situation already – it wasn't so hard to do when it concerned his two 'stupid students' and Kaito. Seriously, what was he thinking, leaving the three of them on their own, even if it was only for a few minutes? These idiots never changed, regardless of how much time had passed since their last encounter.

"…It better be the last time this kind of _'accident'_ happens, _Kaito_ ," Yagari warned quietly, his stern gaze trained on the ash brown-haired male as he came up to the three young hunters.

Kaito's smirk dropped, he stayed quiet, deciding it better not to reply. Yagari wasn't joking, and he was _not_ happy with him – that much the teen could see from the man's expression. Silently, he watched as the senior hunter examined the younger Kiryuu – whose breathing rate suddenly quickened before they all knew it, now that Kaito paid attention.

Yagari tsked, scowling, "This is bad."

"Ichiru…?" Zero spoke the name hesitantly, noticing that there was something wrong with his twin's condition. When no response followed, he called his brother again, now with more urgency in his tone. This time around too, however, the younger Kiryuu didn't react, and the next thing the four individuals knew, Ichiru's form went limp as he lost consciousness.

"Ichiru!" Zero cried, his eyes widening in horror as he fell to his knees following his twin.

**-o-**

Quiet knocks followed by a soft call of his name was what startled Zero from his worried thoughts a couple of hours later. Rubbing at his eyes just in case, the silver-haired teen allowed entrance and the one behind his room's door stepped into the room.

"Still no changes, I suppose?" Kaname asked, referring to the still unconscious Ichiru lying on the bed.

Zero's gaze returned to his counterpart, then after a few seconds he gave the pureblood a negative shake of his head in response to his question, one of his hands unconsciously going to caress Ichiru's identically silver hair and brush some of it from the younger boy's too warm for Zero's liking forehead, while his other hand squeezed that of his brother tighter.

"I see…" the brunet replied absent-mindedly, watching the older twin and his every action carefully. Even in the dark, Kaname couldn't help but notice how red the younger boy's eyes were, how stiff his posture was and how much distress filled his aura. Obviously, he was worried sick for his younger brother, as always.

The brunet sighed soundlessly, his gaze falling. There it was again. That stupid pang in his chest that made itself known every so often when he was near Zero. It was annoying to say the least. Especially now, for whatever reason.

Silence settled over the room for some time. Zero continued petting Ichiru's head gently while Kaname kept watching him quietly, unable to look away yet again.

Then a thought crossed the pureblood's mind, and he spoke before he knew it. It was unbecoming of him to say the least. Such an impulsive action.

"I can…help him, Zero-kun." What in the world was he saying…? "I can make it so that Ichiru-kun would heal for sure and much, much faster." God, he really _was_ a complete fool. What the hell was he thinking? Ah, right, he wasn't. Words just left him on their own accord before he could stop them. The idiot.

"What…? Really?" Finally, Zero's gaze rested on him. Kaname couldn't help but smile involuntarily at the sheer relief mixed with pure happiness, uncertainty and disbelief he saw in the boy's amethyst orbs. He gave a slight nod in response to the other's question and emotions in those lilac pools intensified. The corners of the brunet's lips went further upwards at that. "But- it's… _How_?"

"I will show you. But you have to promise me that it will be our little secret. Don't tell anybody about it, even Ichiru-kun. Alright?"

The older twin gave a slow nod without a second thought. He got up and stepped slightly to the side, letting the pureblood take his place by the bed.

Kaname lowered himself on the edge of the mattress, his expression returned to neutral as he watched the sleeping and still softly panting Ichiru. Having checked the location of other occupants of the house and confirmed that they were where he had left them with his senses, the brunet vampire nodded mentally to himself, then proceeded with his self-appointed task, deeming it better to get it over with sooner.

Zero watched silently as the older teen took a deep breath, then bared one of his wrists before…

"K-Kaname, what are…" In shock and obvious horror, the older Kiryuu stared as the brunet slowly made a deep cut in his wrist with a suddenly sharply clawed finger of his other hand, drawing blood with a disturbingly calm and blank expression on his perfect face. Zero winced, involuntarily imagining how much pain it must have caused the pureblood, even if he himself was the one who did it.

"Blood is the only thing that can help in this- well, in this and many other situations," Kaname replied to Zero's unfinished question, bringing his wrist to Ichiru's mouth that he had already pried open. His free hand rested on the boy's throat, 'guiding' the dark-red liquid into his system.

"Eh? But then I-"

"No," the brunet interrupted, tensing imperceptibly. "In his current state, Ichiru-kun would have taken too much for you to handle it normally." Well, that and…

Unbidden, the images from the last time Kaname saw the younger Kiryuu feed crossed his mind briefly. But he shook them off silently, continuing, "Besides, a pureblood's blood is more potent than any antidote. It works faster too, much faster than any other blood, especially than that of a human. It will heal Ichiru-kun's wounds and help him recover in no time. So he will be alright by this morning, considering that the hunter poison wasn't too strong, as your master said."

"I see…"

A quiet sigh of relief left the silver-haired teen's lips, his expression relaxing visibly, but concern was still present in lilac eyes as they continued to watch Kaname.

Feeling the steady gaze on his back, the pureblood's form stiffened unnoticeably, his posture straightening unwittingly. Thankfully for Kaname though, it looked like Zero missed how tense he had become and more importantly, was clueless about the reason for it.

"This should be enough," the brunet mumbled to himself after some while and a couple more times of cutting his wrist. He retrieved his hand from the younger Kiryuu twin and licked the already healed wound, cleaning it from remaining blood and cringing momentarily at the metallic taste. Then he spoke to Zero, who was by his brother's side again, his fingers threading through Ichiru's hair carefully. "He will be alright when he wakes up. You can rest assured now, Zero-kun."

The hunter gave an absent-minded nod, his attention still captured by his counterpart. From his careful observation, he could see that Ichiru's breathing had slowed down already and his forehead didn't feel so hot anymore. Kaname was right.

Zero turned to the brunet vampire then, and garnet eyes widened slightly upon witnessing the sight before them. On its own accord – yet again, annoyingly – his heart, ever the traitorous thing, fluttered and began beating a bit faster. For a second, he couldn't breathe.

All from a mere smile. One filled with immense relief and happiness, soft and beautiful and meant only for him, yes, but damn it, it was just a smile!

God, he felt ashamed of himself for being _this_ pathetic. Yet he couldn't help the pleasant, comfortable warmth that spread in his chest at the sight of the silver-haired hunter.

Zero's next action, however, nearly made Kaname's heart stop altogether from too many emotions it had to experience at once. He could never even imagine that it was possible to feel like that, and for him of all people.

When his lungs were able to function more or less properly again, it was Zero's tantalizing scent that filled them immediately to the fullest. Unwittingly, he took another breath. Then another one, greedily, but as inconspicuously as he could. And it looked like he was succeeding in his attempt to hide his shameful actions.

"Thank you, Kaname," Zero whispered, his voice slightly muffled by the pureblood's thick, wavy locks. Then slender arms tightened around Kaname's neck and the boy's warm body was pressed further into his.

Zero repeated his previous words again, and the brunet came out of his daze at last.

Slowly, he raised his arms and returned the embrace, carefully and unusually uncertainly. When the hunter still didn't pull away like Kaname was afraid he would, he tightened his hold around the small form, his eyes closing as he nodded softly before bringing his face a little closer to the boy's pale neck.

Discreetly, he drew in another breath, this one slow if not a bit shaky, soon followed by a quiet sigh of content and a small yet so rarely genuine smile that came to his lips.

**-o-**

Rapid scribing of the pen on paper was the only sound that disturbed the absolute silence of the dark room.

Kaname sat behind his mahogany desk, dutifully doing his job of going through the Vampire Council documents and suggestions; filling them accordingly, adding his own remarks and either accepting or declining them. On the outside, he seemed quite absorbed in what he was currently busy with. On the inside, however, his mind was anywhere but on the paperwork he had stacked in front of him.

After putting down yet another document, the pureblood switched his attention to the next one that was waiting for him. For a few seconds he stared at it unseeingly, trying to take in its contents, but the attempt turned out to be futile. So he gave up on it soon enough and put the paper aside, before leaning back in his armchair and closing his eyes, a long sigh falling from his lips.

He couldn't push it out of his mind. Those words Zero had said to him that evening about half a year back now.

They had surprised him, to put it mildly, due to obvious reasons. And he had had half a mind not to trust them at some point, after thinking them through and considering the possibilities. But the brunet hadn't detected any hint of a lie in the older Kiryuu's words, and Kaname was not just good, he was a master at it.

Needless to say, he had immediately noticed that Zero was, indeed, keeping something back – he wasn't a fool too after all. But the pureblood let it be and decided not to inquire into it any further, as the young hunter's reluctance to stay on that topic had been quite evident. So he had complied with the boy's wish and granted his unvoiced request. But it didn't mean that he had agreed not to look into it on his own…

Zero's statement about Ichiru being stabilized hadn't just surprised the Kuran heir, it had also piqued his curiosity, and considerably so. He couldn't help but keep asking himself questions silently. Questions that hardly anyone but the Kiryuu twins could grant with answers, for they were the only ones who knew the truth.

Well, they and…

So it hadn't taken Kaname too long to decide on what he had to do if he wanted to get the information he required. Thus he had done some digging. Or rather, had had Seiren, his loyal and trusted bodyguard, do it in his stead, like usual when he was in this kind of situation.

As always, she had been fast and efficient, and the pureblood was very content with her service. Nevertheless, Kaname's plans hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped, and he had had to experience a few failures, as thus far all that had been waiting for him was the dead end. Not that he was surprised, really, but somewhere deep down, on subconscious level, he had to admit that he had hoped for a more favorable outcome, and much sooner too.

The harder it was to get to the very core of that tragic event, the more the brunet got interested in it. And before he knew it, he couldn't help mulling over it every now and then, once again thinking of every possible detail and occurrence of _that_ fateful night that had – as it turned out, now that he had finally realized – in fact affected him and his life as well, before he even had the chance to notice it.

It may be wrong, it may be a bad idea that can backfire on him badly, and it surely wasn't his place to interfere, he knew. But it had never stopped him in the past, and it wouldn't this time around too. His curiosity, his need to _know_ , to _find out_ , pushed him further and further into the depths of this secret. And soon he simply forgot about all doubts and second thoughts, and kept going towards his goal, driven to get to the truth like never before in his life.

Kaname took a deep breath and relaxed further into the leather armchair he was sitting in.

His heartbeat and respiratory rate began to slow down gradually as the pureblood concentrated on dipping into his powers.

Then he exhaled slowly, his form becoming rigid and eyes snapping open sharply, glassy and shining a vivid red.

**-o-**

Somewhere far away, from anything and everything alive, an abandoned estate could be found, hidden from the world by a thick, dark, endless forest that consisted of long dead trees. Everything around it was still, surrounded by complete silence, and time itself seemed to have frozen there. Tiny flakes of slowly falling snow were the only thing that disturbed the eerie tranquility of the secluded area.

On the vast territory, right near the estate was a garden filled with nothing but trees. But unlike those around the manor, these ones were far from being lifeless – on the contrary, they were the cherry blossoms in full bloom in spite of the season. Smooth petals of some of them fell down and onto the blanketed ground along with white feathery snowflakes, almost impossibly slowly, like they, too, were caught in that frozen time.

In the middle of all that, a lone figure lay motionlessly, almost merging with the colorless covering under its tall slender form.

For some while, it didn't seem like it was even breathing, but then a soft chuckle sounded from it as a slight smile pulled the corners of the pale pink lips upwards before a quiet, feminine voice spoke.

"My my… Of all people, I have never expected to see _you_ here…" the woman trailed off, her eyes closed. But then she slowly opened them, revealing two unusually beautiful pink orbs. She kept her gaze on the dark sky for a few seconds, silently enjoying the view, before shifting it to the figure standing by one of the many cherry blossom trees not far from her. Her small smile never faltering, Hiou Shizuka continued, "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing the young Kuran heir himself?" She paused, her expression turning thoughtful briefly before playfulness returned to it, "Not quite in the flesh though, it seems."

"Madly Blooming Princess… Hiou Shizuka." A hint of distaste crossed the silver-haired woman's face at that another name she had been given a long time ago by the fools that had deemed her insane for no reason, but she didn't say anything to her companion, not really bothered by it anymore.

"Not so dead as they want to believe, am I?" She let out a faint chuckle. "What brings you here, I wonder?"

"I…have something I want to ask you about."

"Oh? Now you got me quite intrigued. What might it be that you cannot find answers to on your own…?" Clearly, she was amused, but also genuinely curious as well. She meant every word she said.

Kaname remained silent, watching the still lying in the snow woman for a short while. In all honesty, he didn't quite know how to approach the matter. He never really thought about it – the first and foremost task had been to find Shizuka, and as far as the method of questioning went, he hadn't really bothered with contemplating on such a thing. But now that he had _finally_ tracked her down… It was safe to say that he was a bit at a loss, uncharacteristically. It was a good thing that his expression didn't betray his slight uncertainty – he made sure it didn't.

"The Kiryuu family," Kaname said simply, and Shizuka's smile fell, red flickering in her eyes momentarily.

"What of them?"

"I want to know about the night you took your revenge on them…and how the younger of the twins managed to get your blood."

One silver eyebrow rose elegantly, "Oh? Here I was wondering why you would be looking for me so persistently… To think that _that_ was the reason…" Pink orbs looked at the brunet thoughtfully, their owner silent for a few moments. Then the female pureblood spoke again, "Why does it matter to you so much?"

"It doesn't," Kaname replied firmly, "I merely want to know the truth. Because I don't like being in the dark, nor am I used to it."

"Oh…" was all Shizuka said, a slow smile pulling the corners of her lips slightly up and a small chuckle escaping her, "If you say so. It doesn't concern me either way."

 _'Then why ask in the first place?'_ Kaname exclaimed in his mind, already getting thoroughly frustrated with the other pureblood. It was very much clear that the woman was simply toying with him.

"Oh, don't be so upset. I'm merely teasing." Yeah, he could see. And he was _not_ upset. A bit annoyed at most, but for a good reason. No one liked to be made fun of, and Kaname certainly wasn't an exception. "Can't help myself when you're so serious and tense yet trying to appear indifferent." The brunet's brow twitched as another soft chuckle sounded from his companion, his frustration and impatience growing steadily, which the tone he spoke with next showed.

"Will you answer my question or not?"

"You haven't asked me one yet, as I recall," Shizuka's smile widened more. Oh yes, she was having so much fun.

Dark eyebrow twitched once more, but the brunet pureblood didn't let his irritation get the better of him. He drew a steadying breath, then voiced his inquiry, "How did the younger of the Kiryuu twins get your blood?"

"'How'…Why, that is very simple," she sat up, slowly and gracefully, taking her sweet time to give her reply, " _I_ gave it to him, of course. What else could there be to it?" She said it in such a tone that Kaname felt stupid for even asking, let alone considering any other possible variants. "Surely you didn't think that a mere child could overpower _me_?" She tilted her head slightly to the side, as though emphasizing the question. When Kaname stayed silent, she turned away, huffing softly, "How insulting…" Yet the mirth in her pink orbs was unmistakable, and the brunet vampire didn't miss it. He really didn't get this woman.

"Why?" The brunet asked, deciding to move on with the conversation.

"'Why'?" Shizuka echoed, returning her attention to him, "Do specify what you mean, please."

"Why did you give it to him? Why did you turn only him?" Kaname inquired, getting a bit impatient already. "Why did you…" he paused, his voice now quieter, "…spare them in the first place?" She could have easily killed the two boys together with their parents. And in most cases, it would have happened. Then why, _why_ had she…

"Because such was our agreement," the female pureblood answered calmly, unfazed.

 _''Agreement'…?'_ the brunet repeated mentally, his brows drawing together in a slight frown.

"Although I must admit, I was indeed tempted to have a taste of the other boy as well," she mused aloud, unconsciously licking her lips, her eyes flickering red briefly. It made Kaname tense involuntarily, as well as her next words. "They both smelt delicious after all, wouldn't you agree?"

The brunet chose not to answer to that.

"I want to know about that night," he said again, this time more firmly. "Will you give me the answers I am looking for?"

The smile fell from Shizuka's lips and all playfulness disappeared from her demeanor. She kept her gaze on the male pureblood, seeming to contemplate something and not saying a word. It was only a minute or so later that she spoke.

A slow, mocking smirk made its way on the silver-haired woman's lips as she voiced her decision, "Very well…I _will_ give you the _truth_ …"

**-o-**

A creak of old iron double gates interrupted the peaceful silence that enveloped the cemetery as Zero pushed them open and went through them. He had lost track of time yet again, and it was already getting late. He knew Ichiru was probably pretty worried – not to mention very grumpy – by now, so he hurried to the station in order not to miss the last train. However, he stopped in his tracks after taking only a few steps, his lavender eyes widening slightly in surprise.

_'What… Why is…?'_

"Kaname…?" Zero uttered the name uncertainly after turning around towards the source of the familiar aura that had made itself known to him a second before. And the pureblood was really standing there, having just gotten out of the black limousine parked not far from the entrance to the cemetery.

The brunet gave him a soft smile, making his way to the silver-haired teen, "Hello, Zero-kun. How have you been?" It had been a long time since Kaname last saw him – well, only about a couple of months actually, but in the pureblood's opinion, it could be considered as a rather long period of time. He wouldn't deny that he missed the other. But he _would_ leave it to himself.

"Fine…Why are… What are you doing here?"

"I…um," silver eyebrows furrowed slightly at the unfamiliar uncertainty that was present in the vampire's voice, to which Kaname only offered another smile of his and continued, "I was nearby on my way to Cross-san, so I took the liberty of coming here to pick you up. If you don't mind, of course."

"I…don't. But how did you know about this place? And that I'm here…"

"Cross-san mentioned it once before," the brunet continued lying smoothly. Cross had never spoken about this place before. And he hadn't been just on his way to the ex-hunter's residence. He had arrived there, but upon sensing that the older Kiryuu wasn't present in the house, he left without exiting the car and gave the driver directions to this location. It was just a guess, but it was confirmed when he sensed Zero's presence just where he had thought it would be. So the pureblood ordered his chauffer to stop the car near the entrance to the cemetery, and he waited. Waited and waited, for quite a long time. Until Zero showed up.

"I felt your presence and followed it." Well, at least that part was somewhat true. "Cold?" Kaname asked with a small frown creasing his brows when he saw Zero rub his slightly reddened hands together. The boy gave a nod in response and the brunet stepped closer. He took the older Kiryuu's smaller hands in his, then rubbed them gently.

Zero blinked. "You're warm," he said, somewhat bewildered.

And it was Kaname's turn to blink in surprise. Then a hearty chuckle escaped him before he replied to the silver-haired teen's comment, "Of course I am." Burgundy eyes glinted with amusement as the pureblood teased, "And just so you know, my heart beats too."

"I know that!" Zero retorted, a furious blush adorning his cheeks, and it definitely wasn't the cold weather that was the case. Kaname let out another chuckle at the rather adorable sight the young hunter made. "I just meant that-"

"I know, Zero. I know." But he couldn't help teasing the boy. It was too much fun. Although, Kaname found himself liking it way too much. "I _am_ responsive to changes in temperature and I do feel how cold it is now, but I can control my body heat if I want to."

"Oh…That's cool."

"Is it really?" Kaname asked, even more amused now.

Zero nodded, smiling slightly, and the corners of Kaname's lips also went upwards.

"We should get inside," the pureblood spoke, "It's freezing here."

His smile widened a bit, and the silver-haired boy nodded, "Yeah…Okay."

Kaname guided Zero to the awaiting car and soon enough they were seated inside of it comfortably and on their way to Cross's living quarters. Comfortable silence settled over the two, occasionally interrupted only by Zero blowing warm puffs of breath on his slightly stiff fingers while Kaname watched the boy quietly.

"So…" the hunter started, breaking the silence, "What have you been up to? We haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yes…I have been busy with the school arrangements." And not only that, but Kaname would rather keep that part to himself. "Do you remember? The one Cross-san once told you about."

"Sure," Zero nodded. "It's all he has been talking about lately. Drives us all crazy sometimes actually," the boy chuckled, remembering a few particular episodes. "You know how he is."

The brunet smiled, in response to both the hunter's words and to his display of joy, "Yes, I certainly do."

"How is it moving along then?"

"Quite smoothly. We encountered some problems at first, but it is all solved now. Everything should be ready in a few months, even before your graduation."

"That's great," Zero sent the pureblood another small smile. "So that's why you were going to visit us tonight? To share the good news?"

"Oh, yes…Of course." Not really. He didn't even plan it. And the purpose of his visit was hardly what the younger teen assumed. "And I have more time on my hands now so…"

"I see. You'll be coming over more frequently again then?" Zero asked, somewhat hopefully, and not for the first time, Kaname's stupid heart skipped a beat without its master's consent.

"You could say so, I guess. Why, Zero-kun," a smug smirk came to his features now, making its presence known even in the brunet's voice, "I had no idea that you missed me to such an extent."

"Wh-? Y-you-" the blush returned, twice redder than the first one, amethyst eyes widened. "I didn't!" Zero finally managed, turning away, a slight scowl on his still beet red face. Which only deepened – both the scowl and the blush – when yet another chuckle came from Kaname.

"Is that so," the brunet vampire said in a mock hurt voice, trying to feign genuine disappointment and failing in it miserably, for once in his life. The grin he currently had on his face was just impossible to suppress – a few seconds was all he could manage at best. The sight of the boy before him was just too endearing.

Zero didn't respond verbally, only turned away to the window, obviously trying to hide his face from the pureblood. Although it didn't really help as one of his reddened ears was still very much visible to Kaname, who couldn't help but emit a deep chuckle before uttering quietly, amusement evident in his voice, "Well, if you say so…"

The two lapsed into silence once more. The silver-haired teen continued staring out the tinted window, taking in the night scenery outside, while the pureblood kept watching him wordlessly, unable to turn away.

They stayed that way for a while, content with just sitting there and enjoying each other's company.

However, as minutes went by, Kaname's smile slowly disappeared and all playfulness left his garnet orbs, his gaze became contemplative. And before he knew it…

"...You know what really happened that night, don't you? What _he_ did..." he blurted out the question he had wanted to voice for some time now.

Immediately, Zero froze, his eyes widened with horror and growing apprehension clear in them, and Kaname didn't fail to notice it. The boy caught himself after a short while though, his composure returning as he willed his body to relax. Although he wasn't so successful in it – his posture was still rather stiff despite his efforts.

The pureblood continued, "Yet you still remain by his side... Why?"

Heavy silence fell upon them. Zero fought to stop himself from hyperventilating and his heart from quickening any further while Kaname struggled to understand why his own pulse rate had accelerated so much, why he waited for the answer so anxiously, even though it didn't show on his face or in his body language.

Finally, Zero managed to speak, however disjointedly, "Wh-what…How...how did you know about that?" The boy's voice was strained, the brunet noted to himself.

"...Does it matter?"

"...No…No. Does anyone else know?" There was fear behind those barely audible words in the teen's tone, Kaname could hear it clearly. And it made something tighten in his chest.

"I don't think so, no..." Because he had never..."I never told a soul about it, and I won't, so there is no need for you to worry so much."

The silver-haired youth sighed shakily in relief, his form visibly relaxing for real now, although Kaname doubted Zero himself was aware of it.

"Thank...you..." the boy whispered weakly, still not meeting the other's gaze. Kaname didn't say anything, but simply nodded.

Another short while passed, and the brunet vampire already thought he wouldn't get an answer to his previous question. But then Zero spoke again, quietly and with a hint of uncertainty.

"I could never think of leaving Ichiru all alone...He is all I have left, my only family." And his other half. They had always been together, _from the very beginning_ …

"Even though he is the one who made it that way...?" The pureblood asked almost inaudibly. He didn't get a verbal response.

He didn't get anything really, for the first minute or so. And even after that all he received was a small nod and a soft, a little pained smile along with a sad expression that took Kaname's breath away.

His fingers curled into a fist to stop his hand from reaching out to touch the other as it ached to do.

He wanted to say something, but couldn't. And so he gave up, scared and uncertain, although he wouldn't admit it even to himself.

Wordlessly, Kaname turned away, his solemn gaze cast down, fingers uncurling to rest uselessly on the leather seat.

_He should have never asked in the first place..._

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.


	7. Scattered Pieces

 

A deep yawn escaped the younger Kiryuu twin as he leaned on the tree behind him heavily. He felt so sleepy and lazy, and yet here they were...

"Remind me again why we're doing it, would you?" Ichiru asked with mild irritation evident in his tone.

"Hmm..." Zero pretended to think, "Because Cross won't stop nagging us for the rest of our lives otherwise?"

"Oh, right," the younger teen responded, then turned his head to the side to look at his other companion. A smug smirk appeared on his lips after a few seconds and he broke the short-lived silence once more, "And because Yuuki is totally useless," the said brunet girl emitted a sharp _'Hey!'_ in response to the insult, but as it so often happened, Ichiru merrily ignored her, his gaze already on his brother again as he continued, "You shouldn't forget about that fact too, Zero."

"I didn't." He gave an apologetic smile to Yuuki when she whined his name in the background. Needless to say, the girl couldn't resist and let it go almost immediately, huffing softly while a slight blush spread over her cheeks. Ichiru scoffed at the sight, earning a small punch on the arm from his adopted sister.

Rubbing the slightly sore spot absent-mindedly, the younger Kiryuu spoke once more, this time to no one in particular, "Honestly, how much longer are they going to make us wait? As if that bastard wasn't enough, now we have to deal with his stupid buddies..." Ichiru tsked in annoyance, his mood worsening all over again.

"Ichiru..." Zero started, but his quiet voice was drowned out by Yuuki's loud indignant one.

"Ichiru! Stop speaking of Kaname-sama in such a manner! He doesn't deserve such treatment, especially from you of all people!"

A tired sigh sounded from the older Kiryuu at the start of one painfully familiar scene. Really, those two...

"Oh? Just look at you, protecting your _beloved_ 'prince' so vehemently. How sweet," he snorted, "It's a pity he's not here to witness your loyalty, huh?"

Yuuki felt a vein pop on her temple, her cheeks turned red once more, but this time it was from anger and embarrassment.

"Shut up, you idiot!" the little brunet exclaimed in the end, sticking out her tongue at the younger twin before turning away, pouting and mumbling a quiet 'Stupid Ichiru' under her breath.

Ichiru merely gave another snort, his smirk widening. Ah, he already felt a bit better. Making fun of Yuuki always helped him lift his crappy mood. But what was even better...

The teen moved slightly to the side, closer to his twin, then clung to Zero's arm and let his weight partly rest against the other's form. The older Kiryuu didn't protest, neither did he show any sign of reluctance or discontent. His only reaction was to smile lightly while sending his brother a warm look, and pat the other's head gently. A soft sight fell from Ichiru's lips that now had a small, content smile of their own playing on them.

Yeah, nothing could compare to this. Ichiru loved being so close to his other half, it always brought him peace and made him feel so light, so good, so... _right_. He nuzzled Zero's shoulder lightly, another satisfied sigh escaping him.

"Tired?" Zero inquired, his voice quiet with a hint of concern evident in it. A small frown came to his features unconsciously.

Ichiru hummed lazily, then responded slowly, his eyes closed, "Just a bit. _And_ I'd definitely rather be in our bed sleeping than here, waiting for some pompous ass and his gang."

"Ichi-!"

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up already, you're annoying," the younger Kiryuu interrupted Yuuki before she got the chance to finish her reprimand. "I don't care that he's your _'prince'_ , _'hero'_ , _'savior'_ , _'crush'_ or whatever." At the word 'crush', a bright blush spread over the brunet girl's cheeks. She opened her mouth to protest, but Ichiru cut her off once more, genuinely irritated by now, "It doesn't change anything for _me_ , alright?"

He was about to continue when a light smack to his head interrupted him. Grunting quietly, the younger hunter turned his accusing gaze to his twin, his head still resting on the other's shoulder as he continued clinging to Zero's arm. For once though, the older Kiryuu didn't yield to his counterpart's pouting expression.

"Ichiru, you're going overboard. Stop it."

"But nii-san…" the teen whined.

"You too, Yuuki," Zero continued when he caught the little brunet stifle a giggle of delight. "You know how Ichiru is when he is tired and cranky, yet you still keep pestering him. Don't whine about him being cruel to you later."

The youngest of the three flushed in embarrassment again, then turned away, huffing softly, while Ichiru snickered.

"You always take his side," Yuuki mumbled under her breath, pouting, "It's so unfair, just because he is your brother…"

"What was that?" Ichiru replied with a smug smirk plastered on his face. The older twin, meanwhile, chose to ignore the girl's comment.

"Shut up, stupid Ichiru."

Surprisingly, he did. Although it most probably was the intent look Zero was giving him that _persuaded_ Ichiru to remain silent. Ah well. He had his fun for the night anyway, so whatever. He would follow Zero's wish and stop his teasing. Besides, it looked like he wouldn't have time for it anyway, seeing as…

"Nii-san…" the younger twin called softly, his eyes opened, now lacking any hint of mirth altogether.

"Yeah, I can feel it too."

"Eh? What? What are you talking about?" That was Yuuki, confused by the twins' words and curious to know what they meant.

"The vamps," Ichiru replied distractedly, "they're here."

Just as he said it, a rather familiar black limousine came into view, soon followed by a few more cars. Having stepped away from the tree they had been standing near waiting all this time, the three teens watched the swiftly approaching vehicles. Soon enough they pulled over and it wasn't long before an all too familiar form of one Kuran Kaname stepped out of the car and immediately went in their direction, a small smile already settled on his handsome features as he greeted them.

As expected, that alone was enough to make Yuuki a blushing, silently nervous mess, and she couldn't hide it no matter how hard she tried.

Ichiru sneered at the sight. God, this girl was so painfully obvious…

"Zero-kun…"

And so impossibly oblivious.

Ichiru's smile disappeared and his gaze hardened as Kaname spoke to his brother and then to him, having already asked Yuuki whatever the hell it was that he wanted to know. The voice and tone the pureblood called his twin's name with were just… They annoyed the younger Kiryuu to no end, to say the least.

Honestly, speaking about _painfully obvious_ , dammit.

He still had a hard time comprehending how the hell he was the only one who had noticed thus far. Naturally, he didn't really care about Yuuki's total obliviousness, but for that of his twin he never stopped being endlessly grateful.

"…Ichiru-kun, how are you two tonight?" Kaname continued after a small pause, directing his attention at the younger twin before returning it to Zero eagerly. "I hope you didn't have to wait for us here for too long."

"Not at all!" Yuuki replied before Ichiru could even open his mouth to complain and tell the brunet male what he thought. Still blushing, the girl went on, "Please don't worry about it, Kaname-sama, we're happy to help."

"Yeah, right," still, it didn't mean that the girl's timely interruption would stop the younger Kiryuu completely, "Speak for yourself, Yuuki. Here is the last place I want to be."

"Ichiru!" and that was Yuuki too, _again_. Seriously, she was beginning to be one very annoying pain in the ass already. "Don't start!"

"What? I merely answered his question honestly. So sorry for not fangirling over him like _you_ always do."

"I do not!"

"Oh you so do. Don't even try to deny it. Even a blind and deft idiot would notice it." That one was true for sure, and they all knew it, no matter how hard Yuuki tried to deny it.

"You little-!" the girl exclaimed, raising her small fist angrily, her face beet red by now. She made a hasty step towards Ichiru, who quickly moved away and clung to his brother's arm once more, feigning fright.

"Aah, nii-san! She's getting violent again!" the younger Kiryuu whined mockingly, leaning onto his twin and away from Yuuki who had already stopped in her tracks, even more embarrassed and ashamed of herself than before. Again, Ichiru made a complete fool out of her, and in front of Kaname-sama too.

Ichiru smirked. Ah, it was as easy as ever. Seriously, Yuuki was so predictable. And speaking of predictable…

The younger hunter sneaked a glance at the pureblood vampire still standing near them. _Predictably_ , his smile was gone and expression had darkened – almost imperceptibly so, but to Ichiru it was clear as a day. Really, what was Yuuki getting all worked up for? It wasn't like Kuran was even paying enough attention to notice her 'embarrassing behavior'.

"Ichiru…" the said teen perked up visibly when his name was called by the familiar voice of his most favorite person. Its tone didn't sound quite favorable for him personally, but it didn't bother Ichiru in the slightest. He knew he could get away with anything either way. Honestly, even he himself knew and silently admitted that he was completely spoiled by Zero. Which he never stopped enjoying and shamelessly taking advantage of – even his consciousness kept quiet about it, so it was all the easier to do so.

Ichiru gave a mental shrug before pushing his random thoughts to the side and turning his attention and gaze to his other half, a sweet smile already playing on his lips. He knew Zero was weak against it. "Yes, nii-san?"

"…" Ah, as expected, he faltered. His gaze was still reprimanding, but it did soften to an extent. Internally, Ichiru smirked in smug self-satisfaction. Externally, however, he displayed surrender. There _were_ downsides to his love for his twin too after all – he was just as susceptible to _'the look'_ , whether it was scolding or pleading or any other, that Zero could shoot him. Ah well, not that he really minded…

"Okay, okay. I'll stop right now," the younger Kiryuu said to his counterpart, then he turned to their adopted sister and put his unoccupied hand on her head, making Yuuki blink in confusion while Kaname only arched a perfect eyebrow. Such lack of reaction didn't escape Ichiru, but for now he quickly returned his attention to the younger brunet. Ruffling the petite girl's auburn hair slightly, Ichiru spoke, "I'm sorry, Yuuki. It was wrong of me to tease you like that. I went too far."

It wasn't even two seconds before all traces of anger disappeared from the girl's face. She blinked again, startled. Then her blush returned, but it was one of happiness this time, and she smiled widely, giving an eager nod as a sign of acceptance of the other's apology.

Ichiru hid another smirk while Zero smiled at the scene and Kaname merely chuckled in amusement.

The rest was more or less uneventful. As the remaining vampires gathered, the three teens got on with their task of escorting the group to their new residence. All in all, it was safe to say that it went smoothly and for Ichiru, even pleasantly, as he was contently talking with his twin while Yuuki kept the stupid pureblood busy with her inquiries and carefree babbling. The vampire's gaze kept wandering from his companion and into obvious direction – Ichiru had to wonder briefly whether Kaname was even paying attention to the auburn-haired girl's words. However, the younger Kiryuu seemed to be the only one who…ah, no, it looked like that weird, constantly smiling and overly cheerful blond noble also had noticed the pureblood's distraction, judging by a few confused glances he had sent the said individual's way throughout their walk.

Not that Ichiru cared, it was Kuran's problem after all, so…

What did bother him though, was another blond vampire that was beginning to seriously get on his nerves. And if the way Zero's form was steadily tensing was anything to go by, the ex-human could tell he wasn't alone in his discomfort.

Finally, after another minute or so, Ichiru had had enough, "What _now_ , _shorty_?" Honestly, it was creeping him out already. That blondie was staring at them like they were some kind of freaks. What the hell was his problem?

"Sh-shorty?" came the indignant exclamation, the noble's blue eyes widened and cheeks turned red as he sputtered, "H-how dare you!"

"Don't change the subject and play innocent. _You_ were the one burning holes in our backs. It's damn annoying."

The Level B huffed, crossing his arms defensively and turning away, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, right. Are you some kind of creep or something?"

That surely made his attention snap back to the Kiryuus, "What!"

"Aidou…" came Kaname's quiet, eerily calm voice. Needless to say, his tone was far from light and happy. The same could be said about his aura that suddenly darkened and made the temperature around him drop a bit.

"No, Kaname-sama, you got it wrong! It's not true! He is shamelessly lying!" the blond tried to defend himself, pointing his finger at Ichiru accusingly. The twins blinked simultaneously at the other's childish action.

 _'Seriously?'_ they thought in unison.

"Am I now?" Ichiru replied out loud, one silver eyebrow going up skeptically. He turned to his counterpart then, "Right, Zero-nii?"

"Mm," Zero nodded, frowning slightly as his gaze rested on the blushing noble. "It was creepy."

"Aidou…" Oh, it got even colder. Both the tone and the temperature. The blond vampire went rigid under Kaname's steady gaze and the twins actually felt kind of sorry for the poor thing. "…We will talk later," the pureblood said conclusively after a few long moments of wordless staring, then turned away and went further ahead, ignoring Aidou altogether.

"Kaname-samaa…" the blond whined, left behind by the rest of the group as well.

Such was their first encounter with the Night Class of the newly established Cross Academy. For everyone, it was another, bigger step towards co-existence. For Kaname, however, more than anything, it meant moving onto another stage of his plans – the ones that had been put in motion so long ago. The only problem was…

The pureblood stopped in his tracks before the heavy double gates that separated the building of the Moon Dormitory from the rest of the school campus. He turned around slightly, looking over his shoulder. Garnet eyes caught familiar lavender ones before their owner had a chance to fully turn and walk away, and for that Kaname was rewarded with a small yet unchangingly soft and breathtaking smile that always managed to make pleasant warmth spread in his chest. Without hesitation, the brunet responded with a faintest of smiles of his own, and it stayed on his lips even when Zero's back was to him as the silver-haired teen went away with his two siblings.

_The problem was that…_

"Kaname?" came Takuma's voice, but the brunet vampire didn't respond, his attention still on the retreating back of the older Kiryuu.

_He wasn't certain that was what he wanted anymore…_

**-o-**

"They seemed quite interesting."

"Hm? What are you talking about, Takuma?"

"The twins of course," the blond noble replied happily, a bright smile never leaving his face. "It was my first time seeing the real thing, so it surprised me how much alike they were. I guess it was the same for Aidou."

"Is that so…" came the somewhat distracted reply.

"You're so mean, Kaname. Hiding them even from me."

"I did no such thing," the pureblood answered calmly, his eyes closed as he rested his cheek on his bent fingers, his free hand dropping two blood tablets in a glass of red wine.

Why didn't Ichijou quite believe it?

Still, he only sighed in defeat, replying, "Alright, if you say so."

"Why don't I find your tone quite convincing, I wonder?"

"Ugh," the blond let out a nervous little laugh. "A-anyway, aren't you excited about this whole school thing? I really can't wait for the first term to start," Takuma said, evading his friend's question, and in a painfully obvious manner at that too. Kaname lifted a questioning eyebrow at such a weak attempt at changing the subject, but didn't say anything about it otherwise, deciding to move on with the conversation as well.

"Yes, I suppose I am." He really was _kind of_ excited about this change in their lives. But just a bit. And let's face it, for all the wrong reasons that he would rather keep quiet about. Plus he was glad to finally get out of _that house_ , where he had been under constant surveillance since the very first day he arrived there a long time ago.

"Takuma…"

The blond hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to the brunet vampire, replying, "What is it, Kaname?"

"Remind me when 'this whole school thing', as you put it, starts, would you?"

"Hmm… In about two weeks, I believe," the noble answered after a second of thinking. "Why?"

"…No reason," was what Kaname said, but Ichijou didn't fail to catch a thoughtful expression that appeared on his friend's features as he turned his gaze from his burgundy drink towards the chessboard that stood on his mahogany table.

**-o-**

It was in the middle of the night that Kaname felt it – one familiar presence that was not where it was supposed to be at this hour, but was, for some reason, wandering through the Academy grounds.

Distracted, the pureblood paused in making a move with the chess piece he was holding, his gaze turning from the said object towards the large window of his spacious study room. A slight frown appeared on his features as Kaname continued looking into the distance, slightly confused yet curious about the reason why the teen was outside, and evidently worried about the said individual.

Automatically putting down the forgotten by now chess piece, the brunet vampire got up and, without a second thought, left the room.

It took him only a few minutes to get to his destination, which, quite frankly, surprised him to say the least. He knew his senses couldn't be mistaken, but…

 _'What on e_ _arth is Zero doing at the stables, of all places, and at such an hour?'_ Kaname thought, taking in his surroundings. Before long he spotted the familiar head of silver locks that stood out even in pitch darkness, and involuntarily, the corners of his lips went slightly up in a soft smile.

The boy's back was to him as he stood near one of the horses, the pure white one, and petted it gently. For about a minute, the brunet stood where he was, content with just watching the older Kiryuu twin. At some point in time, however, his legs decided to move forward and, transfixed, the pureblood stepped closer to the silver-haired teen. Zero still hadn't noticed his presence, as Kaname was concealing it perfectly as he always did, but it looked like the same couldn't be said about the boy's…companion.

He stopped in his tracks sharply as the horse neighed and stepped slightly away, now evidently restless upon sensing the predator that the vampire was. Dark eyebrows arched in surprise at that. Kaname was sure he had suppressed his presence completely – even Zero with his exceptional hunter senses hadn't picked up on it.

"Lily…?" Zero's quiet voice sounded, laced with concern and slight confusion, attracting the brunet's attention back to the silver-haired boy. "What is it, Lily?" he tried soothingly in an attempt to pacify the mare, his hand stroking the side of its massive head reassuringly. It worked to an extent, but it was apparent that the animal was still a bit restless. Which wasn't surprising, really – Kaname was certain it wouldn't calm down so long as he was in such close vicinity.

For a split second there, the pureblood had half a mind to simply disappear and leave the two alone. However, not for the first time, his body ignored his mind and acted of its own accord, and before he was aware of it, he spoke.

"It must be me," he said simply, answering Zero's question in the mare's stead.

Wide from surprise lavender eyes met his the next moment and Kaname scolded himself internally when his breath hitched involuntarily. God, it was frustrating, such uncontrollable responses of his own body. His displeasure with himself was pushed to the back of his mind the next second however, as the brunet's attention returned to the teen before him when the latter uttered his name softly in acknowledgement.

"Why are you…" Zero started, but paused, leaving his question unfinished and changing it to another one instead, "What do you mean?"

"It senses the predator – in other words, myself – and reacts to it accordingly."

" _She_ ," the younger teen replied, continuing when the brunet vampire gave him a faint frown and tilted his head slightly to the side in silent question, " _She_ feels, not _'it'_. And her name is Lily. White Lily."

Kaname's garnet orbs cleared in understanding and he nodded. Zero sent him a soft smile, then turned to the horse and spoke to her this time, "Lily, that is Kaname. It's okay, he isn't dangerous," the boy spoke calmly, trying to placate the mare. On the other side, the pureblood let out a bitter chuckle internally at the silver-haired teen's previous statement. Oh if only… "He is a friend, so be good to him, okay?" Zero finished, bringing his forehead to Lily's and continuing to caress her reassuringly.

Kaname blinked, bewildered.

It looked like the trick actually worked, unexpectedly, as the mare seemed considerably calmer now, in spite of his presence.

"Kaname?" Zero called, successfully averting the vampire's attention from Lily once more. The young hunter's gaze was somewhat expectant as it rested on him, and Kaname blinked again, his head tilting gently to the side in question. He received a warm smile and an amused chuckle in response to his actions, before Zero gestured with his head for him to come closer.

Kaname's eyes widened a fraction in comprehension, but he hesitated, unsure of himself. His gaze flickered to Lily unconsciously for a second, and it was Zero's turn to blink as he got the message. The silver-haired teen let out another chuckle, a bit surprised yet rather amused that even Kaname seemed somewhat apprehensive of going near the white horse.

"Come on, she won't bite," the younger teen said, but the pureblood still didn't look convinced. So Zero added, "I promise. I'll make sure of it."

Kaname was still reluctant, but gave in nevertheless, unable to deny the other. Hesitantly, he made a few steps towards the silver-haired boy and the white mare, but stopped in his tracks when the latter made a snorting noise and stamped the ground, clearly agitated and uncomfortable with him getting any closer. The pureblood began to retreat, but Zero stopped him from doing it, saying that it was alright. The boy stroked Lily's massive head tenderly, speaking to her in a soft, quiet voice, his tone soothing.

The brunet watched the scene curiously, amazed that the hunter's actions actually managed to calm Lily down eventually. Before he realized, Kaname was standing near the two, still a bit cautious but somewhat...excited as well. It was a new, foreign feeling for him, but he rather enjoyed it.

"Don't just stand like that," Zero said, chuckling lightly in amusement. "You can pat her too, you know."

Again, the pureblood stayed silent, his uncertain gaze flickering to the younger teen. Understanding the other's hesitance, the silver-haired hunter only smiled softly, before deciding to help the poor soul that stood near him. Without a second thought, he reached out and took Kaname's hand in his, not missing the way the older male tensed but dismissing it, reasoning with himself that the brunet just wasn't used to others touching him so freely – others than Yuuki, that is. Nevertheless, not really minding the vampire's response, he continued guiding the said male's hand to Lily's head slowly, careful not to spook the horse. She really wasn't used to anyone other than him, after all.

The beautiful mare let out a small sound of slight discomfort when Kaname's hand, still covered with Zero's, was placed on her, but otherwise stayed put as the silver-haired teen kept stroking her soothingly, his presence reassuring her.

"See? Not scary at all," the hunter said quietly, a smile still playing on his lips.

"I wasn't scared," Kaname replied, and Zero was pretty sure he heard a pout in his voice. He couldn't help a small chuckle that escaped him at that.

"Yeah, right."

"I was not," and he definitely was _not_ pouting right now. "It is just…foreign to me."

He stroked Lily's head absently, and a small smile of his own made its way on the brunet's features. It really _was_ foreign to him. But it felt kind of…nice. Especially with Zero here with him, so close...

"Is she yours?" Kaname asked, returning his burgundy orbs to Zero.

"Yeah. Cross lets me take care of her since she doesn't let anyone else near her," the boy replied, giving the mare a fond look before turning to the pureblood, his smile turning into a smirk, "She has quite a temper, as you might have noticed."

Kaname chuckled, "Oh, I certainly have."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for some time, just enjoying each other's presence and continuing to give Lily their attention. But then the pureblood broke it by asking the question that had been on his mind from the moment he had sensed the other's presence outside of Cross's residence.

"It is quite late…" he started, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Mm," Zero nodded, "But I couldn't sleep, so I came here. It always helps."

 _''Always'...?'_ Kaname repeated internally to himself, concluding from the younger teen's words that it wasn't the first time he left the house in the middle of the night to come here due to occasional insomnia.

"I see…" the pureblood trailed off before adding, a small frown creasing his brows as he regarded the silver-haired boy, "But it is dangerous, Zero-kun. Especially now when there are…" he didn't finish, knowing that the other understood perfectly well what he meant to say.

Zero faked hurt, "Surely you don't think that some vamp can win against me just like that? I'm almost a full-fledged hunter, you know."

Kaname smiled, a hearty chuckle escaping him, "I know. And of course I don't doubt your hunter abilities. I am certain you can fend for yourself just fine. But still…"

"Yeah, I get it." The boy sent him another warm smile, "Thank you."

To which the brunet nodded wordlessly, giving a smile of his own in response.

"Your friends seemed interesting," Zero said after a short while, suddenly remembering the group and chuckling quietly to himself.

"Friends?" Kaname blinked, not quite understanding who the other was referring to.

"Yeah, especially that blond, the short one."

 _'Oh…'_ the brunet thought as realization hit him, _'Friends…'_

In all honesty, he wasn't so sure he could quite refer to them as such, but for the time being, he easily dismissed the wording, choosing to continue their conversation instead. These small details hardly mattered right now anyway.

"Ichiru will have lots of fun teasing him," came Zero's next words, and the pureblood couldn't help chuckling at the mental image that popped up in his head all of a sudden – of the younger Kiryuu poking fun at the hot-headed blond. Kaname was sure it would be highly amusing to witness.

"That one was Aidou," he answered, barely stifling another chuckle, "And yes, Ichiru-kun won't be disappointed, trust me."

"Oh? So you entertained yourself with picking on the poor thing as well?" Zero inquired, his tone playful and a wide grin on his face.

"Of course I did," Kaname replied with an innocent look in his eyes. "Although I am fairly sure I was always more merciful than the two of you."

Zero let out a small laugh, "So you noticed and played along earlier, huh?"

"Only partly." The noble had _indeed_ been rather intrusive after all. So he deserved a little punishment in the pureblood's eyes. _And_ it had been entertaining for Kaname as well.

"How cruel. I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor guy all over again," yet even saying that, he never stopped smiling.

"Whatever do you mean, Zero-kun?" the brunet shot back, blinking innocently and feigning confusion.

In response to which the silver-haired teen only raised an eyebrow in amusement, letting his gaze rest on the pureblood for a few more moments before averting his mirth-filled eyes with another hearty chuckle just in time to miss the genuine smile and the look of adoration that Kaname secretly sent him.

**-o-**

He had lost track of time yet again, and it was only a couple of hours later that Kaname returned to his new residence in the Moon Dormitory.

He was back in his study once more, standing in complete darkness near his massive desk and looking at the figures on the chessboard, his gaze contemplative. He stayed that way for some time, lost in his thoughts, his slender fingers tracing some of the beautifully carved chess pieces absent-mindedly.

He pondered about the last few hours, then about the last few years, inevitably ending up going over the most part of his life. He thought about all his initial plans, about all his intentions and wishes, feelings, not so recent revelations and rather shocking realizations, fears and denials. Once again, he reminded himself of his thoroughly schemed, _perfect_ – as he had deemed it until some point in time – plan and its supposed results that he had once upon a time wanted- no, _yearned_ to achieve. Only to realize that a large and most important part of it really _had_ lost its purpose, and not just now or recently, but quite a while ago, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it for a relatively long period of time.

_Which, inevitably, only led to realization that..._

The pureblood's fingers left the figures on the chessboard, going towards the edge of the board itself, where they glided along the smooth surface carefully. For a few more seconds, he let his thoughtful gaze rest on it, before his garnet orbs cleared as he came to final conclusion.

_He could no longer deny the fact that it wasn't what he wanted anymore..._

Slowly, Kaname moved his hand forward, thus pushing the checkered board with everything on top of it towards the edge of the table until the laws of physics did their job and he withdrew his hand.

_Just as he couldn't continue fooling himself into thinking otherwise any longer..._

The expensive items landed, and for a few seconds, the pureblood just stared at them silently, before just as wordlessly, he turned on his heels and headed to his room and out of the study, leaving the overturned chessboard and its chess pieces scattered on the floor.


	8. Impending Changes

 

"You again, huh…" Ichiru said unhappily, tsking in clear irritation at seeing the pureblood. But he opened the door to let the said vampire in nonetheless. "What are you, a stalker or something? Don't you have anything else to do?"

Kaname's brow twitched.

As usual, such a warm greeting. It had been a while since he got one. And he wouldn't lie that he did _not_ miss it in the slightest.

Internally letting out a deep sigh, the pureblood answered with a pleasant smile, promptly ignoring the other's displeased comments and more than just insulting questions. He was more than used to such attitude by now, and it wasn't like he came here to see the younger Kiryuu anyway, so he would dismiss it. "Why, it is nice to see you too, Ichiru-kun."

"Yeah, like I would buy that crap," Ichiru scoffed, turning away from the older teen and waving his hand dismissively, already on his way out of the hallway. "If you came to see Yuuki, she should be somewhere in the kitchen, but I would guess..." he paused, stopping in his tracks briefly and looking over his shoulder coldly, "You're here to see _him_ again, aren't you?"

He received another empty smile from the brunet, before getting the actual reply to his question, "As always, your guess is correct."

Ichiru's brow twitched involuntarily in irritation. _That bastard and his stupid fake smiles..._ "Too bad for you then. Zero is not here. He is visiting _them_ today."

 _''Them'...?'_ Kaname blinked in slight confusion before realization dawned on him and he uttered a quiet and evidently disappointed, "Oh...is that so..."

"Yeah. Well, then..." Ichiru trailed off, fully turning away and waving his hand dismissively – it was more than clear that for him the short conversation was over.

Kaname couldn't agree more. Thus he, too, was about to be on his way out, when all of a sudden, before he knew what he was doing, he blurted out, "Why do you never go there with him?"

At that question the younger Kiryuu stopped in his tracks, his shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly, but the pureblood caught the slight change in his posture nevertheless. The boy didn't reply, neither did he make a move to face him. Kaname continued, "They were _your_ parents as well. And you know Zero-kun would like it if you visited them too."

"Oh?" Ichiru finally responded verbally, his lips going slightly up in a mocking smile as he turned around slowly to the brunet vampire, his gaze cold and unwavering. "And you assume that because?"

"...I can see it."

"Of course..." the silver-haired teen let out a mirthless chuckle that sent an unpleasant involuntary shiver down the pureblood's spine. "Of course, after all, you've been watching him so _attentively_ these last few years there's no way you wouldn't notice, huh?"

Kaname's fingers curled into a fist at his side. The way the hunter spoke to him just now, the words he chose...it graved on his nerves somehow.

"Tell me, Kuran, did you have _that_ much fun? So much so that you completely switched from Yuuki to my brother in no time? Or is it that you just got bored with Yuuki and decided to try something new for once?"

The brunet's eyes widened briefly before narrowing in anger. Now the boy was simply going overboard and Kaname did not appreciate such treatment. "Do watch your mouth, Ichiru-kun. I don't like what you are implying."

" _'Implying'_? Oh no, I am openly stating my opinion. There are no hidden implications in _my_ words," the ex-human shot back, smile still playing on his lips, now more cruel than just mocking. Crossing his arms over his chest, Ichiru continued, "But your stalkerish tendencies and unhealthy obsession with my brother aside, why don't you leave us alone? Go back to silently pining for Yuuki, be all overprotective of _her_ , then get her and live together happily ever after. That was your original intention, wasn't it?"

"'Unhealthy obsession', you say...?" It was Kaname's turn to emit a humorless chuckle, his expression darkened a bit as a cold smile of his own made its way on his perfect features. He continued speaking, his voice quiet and surprisingly calm, "How funny to hear it, coming from _you_ of all people..."

"Oh? So you noticed?" Ichiru replied simply, unfazed.

"It was hard not to. I did keep an eye on you too after all, as a potential danger to Yuuki."

The younger Kiryuu scoffed at that, evidently amused by the statement, "Yeah right, like I have nothing else to do other than concerning myself with harming some girl I hardly know and, frankly, don't give a damn about."

Well, Kaname certainly got it by now already. So he wasn't so worried about that anymore. "Because all you care about is your brother...I presume?"

"Correct. Everyone else doesn't matter. So long as they don't get in my way, that is."

For a few long seconds, the brunet remained silent, both slightly bewildered and rather unsettled with such unwavering, confident answer. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in it, and for some reason, it caused an unpleasant, sickening feeling to arise in the pit of his stomach. Then after another while, he spoke quietly, his face expressionless once more, hiding his inner uneasiness, "...Was that what they did? They got in your way...?"

It took a couple of moments for the words to fully sink in, and when they did, Ichiru stiffened, his eyes widening a fraction and smile disappearing along with every ounce of mirth and mockery altogether. Silence fell over the two then. However, it wasn't long before Ichiru recovered from his initial shock and regained his confidence once again. His smirk returned, now wider and crueler than before.

"So you do know, huh...What a surprise."

"You don't seem surprised."

"Maybe I am not," the younger teen shrugged, closing his lavender orbs momentarily. "I thought you would dig it out eventually. You just _have to_ know everything, don't you, Kuran?"

"...So you are not denying anything." Not that Kaname really expected him to though.

"Why? It _is_ true after all. What's the point of denying it now and in front of _you_ of all people?"

"Oh..." was all Kaname could give in response to that. In all honesty, he had no idea how to react to such behavior – even _he_ couldn't understand how one of human race could be like...that. It left him baffled to say the least. Didn't the boy feel even the slightest regret about what he had done...?

"No. I don't," came the younger vampire's voice all of a sudden, and the brunet snapped out of his musings, a small frown of confusion creasing his brows. He didn't get what the other meant at first, but then it dawned on him that he had unconsciously voiced out his last internal question.

The pureblood returned his attention to the younger Kiryuu's face once more, finding the expression there as void of any emotion as the teen's voice had been when he replied previously.

"I do regret bringing Zero so much pain," _he always had, still did and probably always would_ , "but nothing else. I did what I did because I _wanted_ to do it, and I never had second thoughts about my decision. And _he_ still accepts me, despite knowing all that. He may disagree with me and a lot of my actions, but he still wants me by his side, no matter what. That's all that has significance for me." Ichiru finished, cold impassiveness disappearing from his features only to be replaced by open smugness as a slow, arrogant smirk appeared on his face. Mockery was apparent in his tone when he resumed speaking next, "Now tell me, Kuran, can _you_ say the same about yourself? Do you honestly believe that he would actually choose _you_ over _me_?"

Kaname's form tensed slightly at those questions, his fists tightening almost imperceptibly as he tried to hide how much Ichiru's words affected him. Unfortunately for him though, it was in vain, as the other picked up on the changes in his posture right away, courtesy of his exceptional observant skills.

"Of course," Ichiru said, his smirk never vanishing, "Just as I thought."

The pureblood couldn't take it anymore. And he didn't plan to do so. This talk was a bad, _very_ bad idea in the first place and he _knew_ he should have never even started it. But yet again, his curiosity got the better of him and, once again, led him to _this_. To feeling these unnecessary, unbearable emotions that he certainly did not want to experience. It was frustrating, to say the least. The _truth_ was frustrating, to say the least, especially when it was thrown in your face so mercilessly.

"I think it is time for me to take my leave," Kaname uttered quietly, his gaze leaving the younger boy as he turned away to head for the door. He couldn't bear with that particular _truth_ , at least not at the moment, so he chose to run away from it and try to ignore it for as long as he needed. Because he couldn't bring himself to give up, not now and not anytime soon. "I apologize for bothering you."

"Why, not going to stay this time? I'm sure _Yuuki_ would be delighted to see you," the younger teen continued in a cruelly mocking tone, then added, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on the nearest wall, his shoulders lifting in an indifferent shrug, "Maybe even Zero will too, who knows?"

Kaname stopped in his tracks momentarily upon hearing Ichiru's words, but didn't turn around. His burgundy eyes narrowed slightly and for a briefest of moments, pain flashed across his perfect features, but he was quick to recover and hide his small slip. He was only thankful that the silver-haired youth couldn't see it. He seriously doubted he could take any more of this...humiliation.

After a few seconds, the pureblood replied, "...Maybe some other time."

"Oh," Ichiru replied uncaringly with smile still very much evident in his tone. His amethyst eyes shifting away from the older vampire before sliding closed, the boy gave another light shrug and pushed himself away from the wall. "I see. Well then..." He headed deeper inside the house then, and soon was gone from the hallway, leaving Kaname, who also disappeared after only a couple of seconds, alone.

Ichiru's smile widened further as he heard a soft click indicating that the entrance door was closed. Involuntarily, a heartily chuckle escaped him at that. Who could have though that he would ever be able to have _this_ much fun at Kuran's expense...? It certainly lifted his mood considerably.

"Ichiru?" came soft feminine voice from somewhere to his left, halting the teen in his tracks. It was Yuuki who had called him, having just emerged from her room. She looked around, but apparently not finding what she had been looking for, the girl frowned slightly before turning back to the older boy, "Did Kaname-sama come? I thought I heard his voice…"

Internally, the silver-haired vampire let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes.

 _Of course._ So long as it concerned her beloved prince, she would hear, see and notice everything. Except for the painfully obvious, that is. How ironic. And very amusing for the younger Kiryuu. Maybe it _was_ time for him to..."He did. But he left right away."

"Eh? B-but why...?" in just a few moments, the little brunet's expression changed from happy and hopeful to confused and disappointed, and then to angry as an idea came to her mind, "You didn't say anything rude to him again, did you?"

"Even if I did, so what? It's not like he cares anyway."

"Stupid! Of course he does!" Yuuki exclaimed, clearly upset and irritated at her adoptive brother. "I'm sure he left because of it!"

Yeah, right. "Are you stupid? I had nothing to do with that." Which was true. Only partly, of course, but so what? All he did was state his opinion. And he told the pureblood nothing but pure truth. "Besides, there's no reason for you to get so upset. It wasn't like he came to see you anyway."

"Huh…? But..." Yuuki's brows drew together in a puzzled frown. She blinked innocently, asking, "What are you talking about?"

At that, a slow smirk made its way on Ichiru's lips as he thought to himself, _'Ah well, why not indeed? Could be fun too...'_

"He left when I said that _Zero_ wasn't around," he said uncaringly, continuing on his way and going past a still evidently perplexed Yuuki, who also headed towards her own destination with a light shrug just a couple of seconds later.

It took the girl a good few minutes to realize what it was that Ichiru had been implying with his words. And when she did, she froze immediately, completely stopping in her tracks in the middle of the kitchen, her eyes wide with disbelief. Somewhere in the background, she heard the kettle start to whistle, signaling that the water there had boiled, but it was the last thing on her mind as she stood in her place, stunned.

Unconsciously, the brunet clutched the porcelain cup in her hands tighter, murmuring quietly in shocked disbelief, "It can't be..."

**-o-**

He had been walking for a while now. With no actual destination in mind and not really caring where his legs would bring him – that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

He knew he was a complete fool for slipping like that and letting Ichiru and his words get to him so easily. But he couldn't help it. For the first time in his life, he did feel so uncharacteristically insecure about something, to the point of becoming lost and not knowing what action he should take next, not knowing what action was even right to begin with anymore. He had never imagined he could become such a... pathetic _mess_ , to put it lightly. And because of just one little _human_ too, who also so happened to be a vampire hunter by birth at that.

Now, could it get any more ironic?

Involuntarily, Kaname let a bitter chuckle slide past his lips that were curved into a small, mirthless smile, attracting a few confused glances from some passer-byes. But he hardly noticed the curious looks and puzzled frowns that were given to him then. The brunet just continued walking somewhat blindly, still lost in his musings and oblivious to his surroundings.

If someone had told him a few years back that such a thing would happen to him, that one human child would unknowingly manage to reduce his normally confident and naturally powerful, composed and pretty much invincible pureblood self to _this_ lovestruck idiot who not only had serious problems with giving up when he knew he needed to, but also acquired a few disturbing habits concerning the aforementioned object of his affections, he would have openly laughed in their face – never mind his high status and impeccable manners. The very idea was just absurd and impossible. And it sounded _ridiculous_ , to say the least. Especially when you took into account his personal traits of character and absolute self-control.

Who could have thought that the impossible would happen and there would come a time when his own heart would rebel against its master and betray him so cruelly like that? Who could have thought that, as it turned out, he was just like everyone else in that aspect...? That he was just a man with an uncontrollable heart with a mind and desires of its own...

Unconsciously, one of the pureblood's hands went up and settled over his chest, rubbing at the area lightly as internally, Kaname silently cursed the treacherous thing that was beating there.

For a few more seconds, the brunet stayed like that, before finally beginning to come to his senses, as his clouded eyes cleared and he looked around briefly, taking in his surroundings at long last. Only to realize that it looked like he was a bit...well, maybe not quite 'a bit', but positively lost. Everything around him seemed unfamiliar, no matter where he looked. The pureblood definitely hadn't been in this part of the town before. Not that he visited it so often anyway, and if he did, he certainly didn't do it on foot.

Sure there was no reason for him to get worried or anything, as he knew he could easily find his way back, but still...the situation was slightly...unpleasant. Not to mention how stupid and completely uncharacteristic of him it was.

Kaname heaved a long sigh of frustration, his eyes closing and fingers going to massage the bridge of his nose tiredly. The evening just got better and better with every passing minute, now didn't it? The pureblood wondered briefly what else could be coming his way. He really was in no mood to deal with any more unpleasant incidents right now. It would be better to just go back to the academy and–

"Kaname?"

Burgundy eyes immediately snapped wide open upon hearing that familiar, sweet voice call out his name softly. For a moment there, he froze, suddenly caught completely off guard. He hadn't even noticed the other approach.

In his mind, the brunet cursed uncharacteristically. It just _had to_ happen so that when, for once, their meeting actually _was_ pure coincidence, he was at his worst.

Mentally muttering another curse, Kaname secretly took a deep calming breath, then turned slowly to face the silver-haired boy behind him. Without fail, a soft smile automatically made its way on the pureblood's lips when he saw the said person's face.

"Zero-kun, what a coincidence," he said smoothly, easily hiding his slight nervousness. "You are on your way home, I presume?"

For a moment, a faint frown crossed the boy's features, and Kaname blinked, his smile falling and brows drawing together briefly in confusion. However, it all disappeared the next second when he was given a warm smile and a silent nod in response to his question, which also made his worries about whether he had said or done something wrong to cause the older Kiryuu's previous reaction vanish instantly.

"What about you?" Zero asked, tilting his head slightly to the side and coming closer to the brunet male.

"I...um..." Kaname faltered for a short while, and Zero blinked again, his brows drawing together in confusion and slight worry once more. The pureblood was acting weird and seemed somewhat unlike his usual self. In his head, the hunter wondered briefly what was up with the other.

However, Kaname's next words made him completely forget about all his previous musings, and his brows shot up in surprise, eyes widening slightly.

"Come again?" Zero said, uncertain if he had heard right. The brunet vampire's tone had been hushed after all. And he honestly couldn't believe it.

For a few seconds, Kaname hesitated, his gaze lowered a little and directed anywhere but at his companion. Zero was sure if Kaname wasn't, well, _Kaname_ , he would have been seeing a blush of embarrassment on his cheeks by now. At least so the brunet's current expression suggested.

"...I went out for a walk and..." the older teen finally said, this time louder, but his voice still got quieter by the end of his sentence, "...I got lost." Nevertheless, Zero had managed to catch every word and he knew that he _had_ heard _that_ right. Which first made him just stare at the pureblood for some time, before he burst into a fit of chuckles, barely preventing them from turning into an outright laughter. His shoulders shook from the effort.

If Kaname's cheeks hadn't turned red before, now they were certainly closer to it than ever. He let out a sigh of frustration, averting his eyes further. A pout was evident in his voice when he spoke next.

"Well, I'm glad you find my predicament so funny." Great, just _great_. Could it get any more mortifying?

"Sorry," the hunter paused as another couple of chuckles escaped him, then continued, trying his hardest not to start laughing again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. It's just that...I would have never thought that something like that could ever happen to _you_. So yeah. Sorry, but it _is_ very funny."

"Of course it is," Kaname mumbled under his nose.

"Are you sulking there now?"

The pureblood's gaze turned to Zero sharply, finally meeting the boy's lavender eyes that were filled with unconcealed mirth. A faint frown appeared on the vampire's features as he replied, "I am not."

"Oh no, you so _are_."

"I am _not_ ," Kaname insisted stubbornly. "I don't sulk. I don't _know_ how to sulk."

"Yet it doesn't prevent you from doing it," the younger teen said, chuckling heartily once more.

Kaname chose not to deny that one, knowing that it was probably true, even if he was reluctant to admit it. Yet in spite of his discomfort and understandable embarrassment, he was already feeling better, and the anxiety that had been previously consuming him, was now almost completely gone. All thanks to only one individual that was standing right beside him.

"Let's go then," came Zero's voice all of a sudden, pulling Kaname out of his musings. And without waiting for an answer from the other, the hunter moved forward.

Kaname blinked. "Go?" His head tilted to the side ever so slightly, brows drawing together in a barely visible frown as he asked his next question, "Where to?" Not that it really mattered, as he was already following the silver-haired teen, also not waiting for the reply to his inquiry.

"Nowhere," came the quiet answer, small smile still playing on the boy's lips. "I just want to wander around some more." Zero paused momentarily, turning to Kaname in sudden realization, "If you don't mind, that is. Is there some place you need to be? We can go back to the academy if you want."

"No," the pureblood replied immediately, maybe even too quickly, judging by the slightly startled look he got from Zero. Flustered by such behavior on his part, Kaname averted his gaze and cleared his throat, before resuming speaking after a few moments, "No, it's alright. I would love to accompany you." _More than you could ever think,_ he mentally added, giving the younger teen a gentle, genuine smile.

Which Zero reciprocated with one of his own. Then he gave a slight nod and the two resumed walking unhurriedly. Comfortable silence fell over them for some time, during which both males just enjoyed the quietness and each other's somewhat soothing presences. It was only broken when Kaname spoke after a while.

"How do you find your new school life, Zero-kun?"

The boy emitted a thoughtful hum, considering the question for a moment before replying a bit absently, "It's fine. Though the whole patrolling thing is a bit of a strain. The lack of sleep is seriously starting to get to us."

"I didn't realize it was such a struggle," the pureblood said honestly, genuinely surprised and now also concerned. "But I did notice that Ichiru-kun seems to be more...um..." How should he put it? "Irritated lately." Yeah, to put it lightly.

Zero couldn't help chuckling at that. "It's funny how you chose to put _'royally pissed'_." Because that was exactly how Ichiru had been recently. Not that Zero didn't understand him, as he himself felt pretty much the same way. It was only thanks to his twin that he still hadn't snapped – he was too busy placating his counterpart, which, in turn, calmed him and lifted his spirits as well. "Can't blame him though. Those crazy fangirls _are_ worse than devil himself. And _some_ of you don't really help us too," the silver-haired teen said, giving Kaname a pointed look and a playfully raised eyebrow.

The brunet let out an amused chuckle. "Oh, you mean my constant headache." That was his new name for Aidou. The blond was worse than a spoiled child who wasin _constant_ need of attention. "Unfortunately for all of us, it looks like even I am unable to control him quite well." That turquoise-eyed wonder was just too good at causing troubles. "But you two seem to handle him just fine."

"Mm," Zero nodded. Then a soft chuckle escaped him as he remembered something. "He makes a nice outlet for one's irritation. _And_ it's very entertaining to watch Ichiru tease him."

"I thought it's what they call _'bully'_ these days, not _'tease'_ ," Kaname tilted his head, blinking innocently. Yet the mirth in his eyes was more than evident.

"Oh no, so far it's been just teasing, trust me," the boy said, chuckling some more. "Ichiru can do much better than that when he wants to."

"Is that so..." the brunet trailed off, all amusement gone from his tone as he involuntarily recalled his encounter with the younger Kiryuu twin earlier that evening.

Yeah, he couldn't agree more with Zero's previous words. For he had been bestowed with the honorto see for himself how true they were just mere hours ago. It certainly had been a rather convincing experience.

But he shook those thoughts off, not wanting the precious time he so rarely got to spend with Zero to be spoiled by something like that. So he forced a smile back on his lips and resumed speaking, "Well, I hope it won't come to that."

"Only if that _'Idol'_ of yours behaves. I was pretty sure that Ichiru was going to test the sharpness of his katana on him a few days back."

Kaname let out a thoughtful hum internally, wondering how _that_ would have gone – couldn't help his curiosity.

The hunter continued, "He is lucky to always have that fireball with him."

Another heartily chuckle came from the pureblood. Now that was an interesting nickname in his opinion. "I suppose so. But unfortunately for Kain, same can't be said about him," Kaname replied, his lips quirked in a slight smile.

"Yeah, I always feel sorry for the guy when you take them for their 'punishment' or something." The teen turned his gaze to the brunet then, frowning slightly as he asked, "Why do you punish them both anyway? You know that blondie is the only one at fault."

This time Kaname hummed out loud before answering, "I guess you could call it a habit. They always came together in a package for me." He paused momentarily, looking at the younger teen and shooting him a falsely innocent look with playful smile never leaving his features, "Besides, it _is_ his fault for not keeping an eye on his troublesome cousin."

"Or it's just funnier that way, and you don't want to pass up the opportunity to have a nice entertainment at their expense," Zero suggested, inclining his head to the side and raising a brow knowingly. "You do realize that you're bullying them too, right?"

Kaname gave an elegant shrug, his smile widening ever so slightly. "I prefer to call it 'abusing my privileges'."

The hunter snickered at that, the corners of his lips going further upwards in amusement.

"And you?" came Zero's voice again after some more time. When he received an inquiring look and a slight tilt of the head from the pureblood, the boy elaborated, "The school life. How is it? Do you like it?"

"Oh," Kaname blinked in understanding, considering the question for a few moments before replying, "It's...well, it's new. And a bit unusual." His gaze returned to the younger teen then, a tiny smile forming slowly on his lips, "But yes, I think I like it." It was rather fun actually, for various reasons. And he was glad to have finally gotten out of _that_ house. He could have never imagined that it would feel _this_ good and relieving to be away from it.

"That's good," Zero replied, giving a light nod. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

Oh he certainly was. Especially _this_ particular aspect of it, and now more than ever.

A deep chuckle escaped the brunet vampire at his own thoughts, which earned him a questioning look and a rather adorable in his opinion puzzled frown, to which he just responded with a small shrug and a gentle shake of his head, his smile never faltering.

**-o-**

Rapid footsteps, soon followed by Yuuki's somewhat urgent voice was the first thing that greeted the two when they entered Cross's living quarters. With panicked, wide eyes yet evidently relieved expression, the girl ran towards them, saying in a rushed tone, "Zero! Finally you're back! I-" She faltered, stopping in her tracks, the expression on her face changing to one of surprise and confusion. "Kaname-sama...?" Yuuki asked softly, her brows drawing together in a puzzled frown.

Internally, she recalled Ichiru's words from a few hours back, and before she could stop it, her doubts and suspicions were crawling back into her mind.

"Good evening, Yuuki," the pureblood greeted his dear girl with a fond smile on his lips. "I hope you don't mind, Zero-kun invited me to have dinner with you."

"O-of course not...I just..." she trailed off absently, her now slightly doubtful gaze shifting between the two, before settling on the brunet male once more.

Kaname blinked, a faint frown came across his features, while Zero only tilted his head to the side a little in silent question. Yuuki smiled widely then, brushing her current thoughts away for now, and resumed speaking, her usual cheerfulness returned full force, "It's nothing. Please come in, Kaname-sama. I'm so happy that you're here!"

"Thank you. But, um...If you don't mind me asking..."

The little brunet blinked, her smile fading, "Yes?"

The pureblood didn't answer right away, but just stood there silently, seeming to contemplate something with a somewhat uncertain expression on his face. Yuuki frowned at that, perplexed. Her head tilting slightly to the side, she called the older male's name once more, "Kaname-sama?"

"Um..." How should he...

"What on earth happened to you? You look like hell." Well, Zero just did it for him, saving Kaname the trouble. For which the vampire was thankful, as he honestly couldn't find more accurate words to express his thoughts.

At the older Kiryuu's words, the auburn-haired girl visibly paled, a loud gasp escaped her and her small hands immediately shot up to her face and then to her head as she remembered what had happened and why she had been so relieved that Zero was finally home. Internally, Yuuki was panicking even more than before. And she looked positively mortified, to say the least. She couldn't believe she had let her crush see her in such a terrible state. It took all her control and bravery to stay where she was and not just run away and lock herself in her room in utter shame. She could literally feel her face blaze bright red by now.

"Are you alright, Yuuki?" Kaname asked, a bit worried, but secretly amused by the display before him. He had to do his damnedest to keep the huge smirk that was begging to let it come to his face from showing.

"Huh? Oh, um..." the girl stammered, coming out of her momentary daze. Her head bowed slightly, eyes lowering and cheeks going even redder, if it was possible, the girl nodded fiercely and continued with her nervous reply, "I-um, yes, I-I'm fine, it's...It's just..." Uncertainly, the petite brunet lifted her gaze to meet Zero's lavender orbs for a brief second, all the while fidgeting uncomfortably, and it was all the silver-haired teen needed to get the message.

The hunter gave a long sigh, mentally preparing himself for whatever was coming, already expecting the worst, "Okay. Tell me what you did _this_ time." Although judging from her state...Dirtied clothes – part of which was an apron that, though _supposed_ to be white, was now painted in variety of strangest colors – and face, along with hands, coupled with not _just_ messy, but _ridiculously_ messy auburn hair that seemed a bit darker in some places spoke volumes. Not to mention that some locks looked...wait a minute, were they actually _burned_?

"It-it's nothing, really, just..." The girl continued fidgeting and laughed sheepishly, her hand going to the back of her head nervously. "Um, you see, we..."

 _'We?'_ Zero repeated in his mind. _'Great. Don't tell me that_ that _idiot-'_

"Father and I-"

 _'is also in on this...'_ The hunter finished mentally, groaning very audibly upon hearing the girl's words, his palm covering his face.

Beside him, Kaname stood silently, watching the exchange curiously. He already guessed that something troublesome had happened, but he couldn't get what the big deal was. Surely it couldn't be _that_ bad for Zero to look so distressed...

"Well, we saw that really delicious-looking cake in magazine and there also was recipe for it and it seemed so simple..." Another nervous laugh before Yuuki continued, her voice getting quieter and less confident with every word she said. "And, you know, you didn't come back and we were getting hungry...And we had all ingredients too, so...um..."

"And the rest you have already imagined by now, nii-san." Ichiru's disgruntled voice came all of a sudden, drawing the attention of three other occupants of the hallway.

"I-Ichiru!" Yuuki exclaimed in surprise, whirling around to face the younger Kiryuu and immediately flinching at the stern look he gave her.

After a few seconds, Ichiru let out a deep sigh, then started speaking tiredly, "For fuck's sake, Yuuki. I've been taking that damn bath for, what, half an hour? Forty minutes? How the _hell_ did you two clumsy idiots _manage_ to cause all _that_?"

 _'Oh...'_ Zero thought to himself. That further explained _how_.

Kaname's puzzled frown, meanwhile, deepened. From both confusion and disapproval of the younger Kiryuu's choice of words. He contemplated stepping in for a second, but immediately decided against it, reluctant to get involved for some reason. So he continued watching from the sidelines instead.

"I'm sorry..." Yuuki muttered quietly, her head bowed and eyes glued to the ground. She positively looked like a child caught red-handed stealing cookies and being scolded by her strict and very displeased mother. Kaname had to admit, it _was_ somewhat entertaining to witness.

"You sure as hell better be. You do realize that neither Zero, nor I will help you two clean up your mess?"

"...Yes," the girl replied almost inaudibly, her head ducking further and shoulders slumping in obvious disappointment.

Unsurprisingly, Ichiru didn't fail to notice it, and his brow twitched in annoyance. "Surely you _did not_ think that it would go any other way now,  _did_ you, Yuuki?"

"O-of course I didn't!" the girl denied immediately, startled, her head snapping up and an uneasy, shaky smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah, right. I won't even pretend that I just bought it."

A long, exhausted sigh sounded then, distracting the two – to Yuuki's delight, and in her head, she thanked her favorite adopted brother for always saving her, even if he did it unconsciously – and attracting their attention to a tired-looking Zero who still stood beside Kaname near the entrance. His eyes closed, the teen shook his head in disbelief.

"Geez, Yuuki. Are you two kids or something?" He scolded the brunet girl, who was already starting pulling off her usual trick on him. But Zero already anticipated it, and he raised his hand, as if to stop the smaller brunet from doing it. "Oh no, don't even think about giving me that puppy-eyed look of yours. You won't get away with it."

And Yuuki actually gave up, for once. Her face fell in disappointment and posture slumped visibly. Zero had to force himself not to give in upon seeing such crestfallen look on the girl's features.

Sighing again, he decided to change the subject, "Where is that walking disaster anyway? Is he hiding or something?" He finally took off his shoes and stepped further into the house, a still silent Kaname following him.

Yuuki lifted her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but Ichiru beat her to it, gesturing behind himself, "He is in the kitchen, out cold."

That earned an arched eyebrow along with suspicious look from both Kaname and Zero, to which the younger twin replied flatly, "And I have _nothing_ to do with that. Don't even care what the hell happened to the idiot."

"Oh," was all the two said, unusually calm and unaffected.

The four went deeper into the house, automatically heading to the kitchen. They reached their destination in no time, and having arrived there, each showed different reaction, but all agreed on one: Cross and Yuuki should be prohibited from entering the kitchen for the rest of their lives. And just in case, when there was no one in the house to look after the two, the room should be firmly locked and sealed so that they wouldn't be able to even peek into it.

"...Alright," Zero finally spoke after prolonged silence. He turned around and began walking away, wanting to forget what his eyes had just witnessed, "We're having take out tonight. I am _not_ stepping in there any time soon."

"Agreed," Ichiru answered without a second thought, following his brother into the living room.

Yuuki uttered a quiet _'okay'_ and went off to take a much-needed bath, happy to be off the hook for now. And Kaname stood there for a long while, staring at the sight before him unblinkingly in astonishment. To say that he didn't recognize the so familiar place would be one hell of a _huge_ understatement. What in the world...?

A small noise caught his attention then, and the pureblood's gaze shifted down only to fall on another _painfully_ familiar _object_ there. And it was at that moment that he remembered what _disaster_ had befallen the room. Kaname blinked, staring at that 'object' blankly for a few seconds, before turning away altogether.

"K-Kana...me-kun..." came the barely audible, pitiful voice. The brunet could easily imagine the shaking hand reaching out for him dramatically as he started walking away silently, ignoring the pleading look he could feel on his back along with another call of his name and a quiet cry for help.

This day couldn't get any weirder.

"Kaname, what would you like?" Zero inquired when the brunet vampire joined the two silver-haired teens in the living room.

Kaname blinked questioningly, tilting his head with a small frown, before he realized what the boy meant.

 _'That's right, the food...'_ he mentally reminded himself, and was about to reply when the younger twin cut him off with a question of his own.

"Wait a minute. _He_ stays too? _Again_?"

Zero gave a nod, "Mm. I invited him." Then he turned his attention back to the older male, asking, "So?"

Ichiru muttered a string of curses under his nose, obviously unhappy with the discovery. But he didn't argue with his twin, persuaded by the gentle hand that was currently caressing his hair affectionately. So he chose to dismiss the matter and ignore the stupid pureblood's existence for the rest of the evening.

"Whatever," Ichiru muttered, turning away and earning himself a, though well-concealed, but still awfully _annoying_ smirk of triumph and self-satisfaction that emanated from the older vampire in waves, which he could _feel_ with his skin. With an irritated huff, the younger boy slumped down into his favorite armchair, openly sulking.

Seeing that, Kaname tried to stifle a quiet chuckle of delight, but failed miserably.

Yes, this day certainly couldn't get any weirder. But in the end, it turned out to be much better than he could have ever imagined, in spite of its upsetting and very unsettling start.

For which the pureblood was genuinely thankful.

It was only unfortunate that he didn't have as many of such days left as he would have wanted to.

As somewhere far, a great distance away from the Cross Academy, in an abandoned, long forgotten castle, a lone heartbeat slowly came to life, shattering the deadly silence of a dark, cold room and setting the once frozen clock in motion.

And so right then, at that very instant...

_The countdown started._


	9. Crimson Drops

 

"Ichiru?" Zero's voice sounded after a few light knocks, muffled by the door separating him from the one he was talking to. "Yuuki said you called me."

"Come on in, nii-san." Ichiru answered, and Zero half-entered the room.

"What is it? Did you want something?"

"Yeah…" the younger twin paused, his expression and eyes turning pleading and Zero _knew_ he wouldn't be able to say no to whatever Ichiru was going to ask of him. Well, nothing new there. "I wanted you to wash my back. And hair too while you're at it."

At the last part the older Kiryuu arched an eyebrow. The back he could understand, but hair…

"Aren't you perfectly capable of washing your head on your own?"

"Yeah, but I'm being lazy," Ichiru replied nonchalantly, then added, "And am enjoying it."

Another arch of a silver eyebrow. Zero continued looking at his counterpart silently, unimpressed.

"Come on, nii-san," and here it was, _that_ tone that they both knew Zero couldn't resist, coupled with pleading eyes the older teen was also weak against. "It's not like you're busy, and I miss you…I just want to be with you for a bit…"

Zero still refused to yield, but Ichiru's next attack insured his victory in their battle. Unsurprisingly.

"Please?" was all the younger Kiryuu said, and Zero let out a resigned sigh. He really needed to work on resisting Ichiru and his whims.

"Okay, okay…" the older twin answered, fully entering the room and closing the door after himself. He went towards his counterpart, continuing, "Yuuki is right. I _am_ spoiling you too much."

"Yuuki can't be right. She is Yuuki after all."

"Well, for once she _is_ right."

"Impossible," Ichiru scoffed.

"You just don't want to admit it even though you know it's true," Zero said, rolling up his sleeves and making himself comfortable on the edge of the bathtub.

"That you're spoiling me?"

"Mm," the older of the two nodded, reaching for the shampoo and uncapping it.

"Of course it's true," Ichiru smirked. "And I never miss the opportunity to enjoy it."

"Ichiru…" Zero sighed, trying to make his tone sound reprimanding, but failing miserably. The fond smile that graced his lips didn't help as well.

Comfortable silence fell over the two for a short while, during which Zero began washing his brother's hair, his long fingers massaging the younger teen's scalp gently and skillfully. Ichiru let out a content groan and leaned into the other's touch, shamelessly enjoying every moment of his twin's softness for him yet again. Oh he _loved_ being so spoiled by his beloved counterpart.

"Speaking of Yuuki…" Zero started, pulling Ichiru out of his pleasant daze. "Did something happen to her that I don't know of?"

"Hmm…?" Ichiru responded lazily, still very much distracted by the heavenly feeling of his brother's lean fingers in his soapy hair. "What do you mean?" he slurred.

"She's acting weird."

"Is that so? I haven't noticed," the younger teen lied, already guessing what the whole thing was about yet choosing to pretend oblivious. Sure his counterpart didn't have to know that it were _his_ words from a couple weeks back that had caused the girl's latest strange behavior. It was nothing but unnecessary, unimportant details.

Ichiru gave a mental shrug.

Then he continued, "Weird how?"

"I don't know, it's just…She gets strange around me. And her attitude is different." A thoughtful frown creased Zero's forehead as he recalled recent changes in Yuuki's behavior, subtle as they seemed to be.

"Oh…" was all that came from the younger boy.

Zero nodded slowly, his gaze contemplative as he continued massaging his twin's scalp absently.

"Look, just leave her be, nii-san," Ichiru finally said after a few minutes of brooding silence. "It's probably nothing and she is just being Yuuki. I'm sure it's not even worth you worrying about it. Like usual," the teen finished, giving an uncaring shrug of his shoulders.

"Hm…" Zero gave another slow nod, absently.

The two went quiet then, comfortable silence settling between them once more, disturbed only by the sounds of running water as the older teen rinsed the shampoo out of Ichiru's silver locks.

"Here, all done," Zero said after finishing and got up, wiping his hands on his shirt.

Ichiru let out a soft groan of disappointment at the loss of contact. He looked up at his twin and blinked innocently at him, before tilting his head slightly to the side and asking, "What about my back?"

The older Kiryuu blinked.

A quiet sigh escaped him, and he tried his damnedest to look stern as he uttered in what he hoped sounded as scolding tone, "Ichiru…"

"Please?" Okay, surely he would _not_ fall for that one _again_.

But Ichiru was merciless, like always. " _Please_ , nii-san?"

Again, _that_ look and _that_ tone. They made Zero's resistance – or more like some feeble attempt at it – crumble completely.

For the umpteenth time, the older teen internally cursed his soft heart and his counterpart's sneakiness.

He let out a sigh of defeat and took his place on the edge of the bathtub once more, his hand already reaching for the sponge.

Ichiru didn't bother to hide the huge grin that made its way on his face.

**-o-**

"Lately those attacks have become more frequent, and according to the witnesses' words, the attackers were-"

A soft hum interrupted Ichijou in his speech, and he blinked, looking up in slight surprise from the reports in his hands to the pureblood lounging on the red velvet couch lazily with a glass of blood wine in his hand.

"Kaname?" the noble called after a few seconds of silently looking at his friend. When no response came, Takuma frowned, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Kaname, are you listening?" It was a stupid question, as it was pretty obvious that the brunet wasn't paying any attention to his words whatsoever, but he had to try anyway.

Now he seriously doubted that his friend had heard _anything_ he had said at all, and that he even knew what the conversation was about for that matter. But thankfully for him, Takuma knew a way to get the pureblood's attention back – and a very entertaining one too, though not so much for Kaname.

"Oh, and also," the noble started in a cheerful voice, his usual smile in place and his emerald eyes twinkling ever so slightly with mischief, "I forgot to tell you, but Yuuki-chan came to see you this morning."

The younger vampire gave another blink when all his words managed to evoke from the brunet was another absent-minded hum. Okay, that wasn't what he expected.

He continued, "But Aidou sent her away. In the most unceremonious manner, might I add."

Still nothing. And this time Takuma couldn't help the genuinely confused frown that came to his features. Now _that_ reaction – or rather, the lack of one – was just weird.

Thankfully though, he still had another card up his sleeve. One he was sure would bring him victory.

With a small yet unmistakably evil smile, the blond resumed speaking in a casual tone, "And then he went and picked a fight with Zero-kun, which resulted in him getting his fangs on his blood and-"

Ichijou didn't even manage to finish his sentence when the sound of shattering glass came and interrupted him viciously.

 _'Oh my,'_ the blond thought, blinking. He didn't see that coming.

"He did _what_?!" Kaname hissed menacingly, already up from his previously relaxed posture and glaring at the noble vampire fiercely, his eyes blazing a dangerous red. Shards of glass were embedded in his palm and burgundy liquid was dripping down his fingers, but the pureblood paid attention to none of those things.

Internally, Ichijou sweatdropped. He let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, replying happily, "Oh, so you _were_ listening...What was I saying again?"

"Ichijou..." came the pureblood's threatening voice, and this time the blond sweatdropped for real.

He emitted another nervous laugh before replying nonchalantly, "Ah well, whatever it was, it was a lie, so don't worry."

Kaname blinked. Then he frowned, "I beg your pardon?"

"It was all a lie," the blond repeated with his cheerful smile never leaving his face. "Nothing happened and Aidou never left the dorm, so don't worry about it. The day has been rather uneventful so far."

Another blink, then Kaname just stared at the noble wordlessly.

"Ichijou..." the brunet vampire said slowly in a dangerous tone, his gaze darkening along with his aura.

Takuma laughed nervously again, feeling uneasy from the evident drop in the temperature of the room. As he had thought, it wasn't as amusing for Kaname as it was for him.

"But anyway," the blond started, trying to save himself from the pureblood's silent wrath, "Back to the topic at hand, hunters sent someone to get rid of those Level Es in town from their side. Should we send someone from ours as well?"

The distraction didn't seem to work, as Kaname's demeanor didn't change much and he still didn't speak.

Well, Takuma had a secret weapon for this case as well. Thankfully.

"Um, you know, maybe Zero-kun and Ichiru-kun will need some help..."

As expected, it worked without delay and Ichijou mentally smirked to himself in triumph. Really, his dear friend could be so endearingly simple and easy to handle sometimes in spite of his status and demeanor...

Kaname's dark aura retreated and disappeared altogether at the very mention of the older Kiryuu's name. His usual mask of impassiveness was back on, but Takuma could still feel interest and slight excitement behind it.

"I'll go," was all the pureblood said after a short while of silence, already on his way out of the room.

Blinking once more, Ichijou chuckled, then shook his head in amusement, and hurried after his friend.

**-o-**

Aidou shivered for the umpteenth time that morning from another dark look his beloved pureblood leader shot him.

Beside him, his cousin arched an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look, while Ichijou, although attempted to, but still failed to suppress quiet chuckles that escaped him. At that, Aidou casted the other blond of the group an inquiring look of his own, but received only a slight shake of the head in response.

"Hanabusa," Kain started in a low tone, and the shorter noble returned his attention to him, "spill it out. What did you do _this_ time to upset Kaname-sama? And more importantly, _when_?" They hadn't even been up for more than two hours, yet it looked like somehow, Aidou had already managed to upset their leader, if the said vampire's strange behavior was anything to go by.

"Nothing," the shorter teen hissed, "I did absolutely _nothing_ , Akatsuki. I myself have no idea what in the world is going on!" he finished in a harsh whisper, frustrated.

"Doesn't look like that though," the fiery-haired noble paused for a moment, contemplative. Then he suggested, "Maybe you started sleepwalking and did something while you were asleep?"

"Not funny," Aidou shot his cousin a glare, far from amused.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," Kain replied with his usual deadpan expression never changing. Yet the shorter vampire could swear that for a brief second there he had caught a barely perceptible glint of amusement in the other's eyes.

Aidou's brow twitched in annoyance, but he chose not to offer a reply to his cousin's words. How in the world had Akatsuki even managed to come to such ridiculous-

Another shiver ran through the blue-eyed blond in response to _another_ stern look sent to him by the pureblood, and for a moment there, he actually considered Kain's absurd suggestion.

What _on earth_ was going on?

"K-Kaname-sa-" Aidou started nervously, having finally gotten enough courage to speak to his precious leader, but a sharp _'Look out!'_ from somewhere above the group interrupted him. Immediately, the blond's curious gaze shot up to the source of the voice, but before he could actually see something and heed the warning, he was pushed face first into the ground by something heavy landing on him painfully.

For a few long moments, stunned silence fell over the group as everyone watched the scene before them from the side, having managed to step away in time.

"Oh..." came in a bored tone from the newcomer the vampires were all too familiar with, "Aidou-sempai. Sorry, I didn't notice you," the younger Kiryuu twin said, yet he sounded anything _but_ sorry. On the contrary, his voice actually seemed rather amused, and none of the members of the Night Class failed to catch it.

Ichiru continued, never moving from his spot on the blond noble's back and not even showing any signs of intending to do so any time soon. "But I told you to 'look out', didn't I? Or are you just being your usual creepy self _again_?"

"Y-you!" Aidou exclaimed, eyes wide in exasperation and an angry blush on his cheeks as he looked over his shoulder sharply at the silver-haired hunter. "Get off me this instant!"

Ichiru tilted his head to the side, blinking, "Are you avoiding my question? You do realize that it's the same as giving a positive answer, don't you?"

"W-what!?" Aidou bristled, his eyes widening and blush deepening further. He continued, sputtering, "H-how dare you! You insolent little brat!"

The younger Kiryuu feigned hurt, "How rude. You're hurting my feelings, Aidou-sempai." He let out a dramatic sigh, then a smug smirk came to his lips after a few moments, "And you _still_ haven't answered my question. I suppose I hit the mark with my guess, after all."

"As if! Don't get so full of yourself, stupid hunter!"

"Childish as ever," Ichiru scoffed at the other, before finally getting up and straightening.

"Wh-"

"Aidou, that is quite enough," came Kaname's silky voice, immediately stopping the highly agitated blond from getting into another verbal fight that he would lose for sure – like always.

"But Kaname-sama!" Aidou whined childishly, already on his feet, " _He_ is the one who-"

"Aidou..." the pureblood repeated, and this time the younger vampire didn't fail to catch ominous warning in his beloved leader's tone. Involuntarily, he froze and a cold shiver ran down his spine. No words left him anymore and the only response he gave was a stiff bow.

Ichiru tsked, not trying to conceal his displeasure at having his entertainment cut short. And he was only getting started too...

Under his breath, the younger Kiryuu cursed Kaname for always interfering with his fun. In response to which Aidou bristled once more, barely resisting the urge to bark back an angry reply in defense of his precious pureblood, Kain remained impassive, Ichijou hid a light chuckle behind his hand and Kaname himself only arched an elegant eyebrow.

"It is a pleasure to see you too, Ichiru-kun, like always," the brunet said calmly, before asking, "And...Zero-kun is...?"

Ichiru gave a shrug, "Not far. Doing his part of the job." He let out a snort, a smirk tugging at his lips, "Why, losing your touch at stalking, Kuran?"

"How dare you!" Aidou sputtered, fuming all over again and now even more impatient to get his claws and fangs on the stupid brat for his blatant disrespect for his Lord. It was outrageous! How _dared_ that pathetic hunter treat his brilliant, kind, wonderful, perfect, beloved prince in such a manner!? But more importantly, why did Kaname-sama even put up with it?!

 _'Honestly,_ _'_ the blond sighed mentally, _'Kaname-sama is too gracious and noble for his own good. And to those who definitely deserve it_ the least _. Like these foolish Kiryuus and that stupid human girl.'_

"Aidou..." came the pureblood's tired voice, followed by a frustrated sigh.

And why on earth was _he_ always the one his beloved Kaname-sama got displeased with?!

It took his damnedest to hold back and not blurt out his protests, but Aidou managed to do it. Although his stiff posture and glaring eyes spoke volumes of what he _really_ wanted to do instead of obediently shutting up.

"Yes, Kaname-sama..." the blond answered reluctantly through clenched teeth, and Ichiru arched an eyebrow, amused yet still a bit disappointed.

But he was quick to dismiss the matter and move on with the conversation. He wouldn't get so much fun out of picking on Aidou with the stupid pureblood around anyway.

With a nonchalant shrug, Ichiru spoke to Kaname once more, "What the hell are you doing here anyway?" He swept his gaze over the rest of the group of vampires, "Decided to take your kindergarten out for a field trip?"

"You could say so," Kaname gave a shrug of his own. "We are here to offer our assistance with your task."

"Of course you are." Ichiru rolled his eyes internally. As if he didn't know _why exactly_ the royal bloodsucker was present before him. And Aidou was getting all worked up about him calling Kuran a stalker? "Only I doubt we need help. But if you're so eager, go ahead and knock yourselves out." Shrugging uncaringly, the silver-haired teen turned to walk away and continue with his hunt, "Just make sure that you're not getting in our way."

In response to which Kaname only gave an absent-minded _'We will'_ and set out towards his new destination, secretly eager and already busy searching for the older Kiryuu twin's whereabouts with his senses.

Immediately, Aidou made to follow after his leader, but was stopped first by Ichijou who wore an enigmatic smile on his face that made the younger blond frown in slight confusion, and then by his cousin, who put a hand on his shoulder with a pointed look that only added to his confusion. He opened his mouth to voice out his puzzlement and find out the reason for his companions' weird behavior, but Ichijou spoke first with his ever present annoyingly cheerful smile that now stretched from ear to ear.

Aidou couldn't help shuddering at the sight involuntarily.

It was just _wrong_ for a born vampire to be so...sunny and bubbly and _impossibly_ happy. And quite frankly, it freaked him out a bit.

"Let us check other areas while Kaname-sama handles that one, shall we?"

He didn't even get to voice his protests as he was dragged away by the two vampires.

**-o-**

Zero failed to stifle an agonized cry that escaped him as intense pain shot through his body when a set of razor sharp claws ran down his arm all of a sudden. He could literally feel them embedded deep in his skin, tearing it mercilessly inch by excruciating inch, even though the contact lasted no more than a mere second.

Unbeknown to him, his gun dropped to the dusty wooden floor that was now stained with blood, the amount of which continued to increase with every passing moment. Disoriented, Zero stumbled backwards until his back collided with the wall and he lost balance and dropped heavily to the ground. His hand automatically went to clutch his trembling arm and a quiet groan escaped him, soon followed by a soft curse under his breath.

Instinctively, Zero made to take his aim anew, unaware of the fact that his hunter weapon was absent from his grasp. But it didn't matter much anyway, as the moment he attempted to raise his injured limb, he found that it didn't quite listen to him the way he wanted it to. He couldn't stop the trembling that was getting more violent with every second, and it seemed to him as though he was slowly losing not only the strength, but also all feeling in it.

Immediately reacting to the rapidly worsening situation, Zero gave up on his gun and switched to his hunter daggers that were waiting for their turn inside his jacket. Skillfully and without hesitation, the silver-haired teen threw three sharp-edged items at once. Each managed to embed itself into its intended target's flesh, and the Level E screeched loudly in pain, falling onto its hands and knees. But unfortunately for Zero, none of the inflicted by him injuries were enough to finish off the rabid vampire, and before the hunter knew it, the blood-crazed beast was moving towards him with surprisingly fast speed, snarling viciously, now seeming even madder than before.

For a moment there, Zero couldn't help panicking involuntarily at the sight, feeling the imminent danger with every fiber of his being. He froze for a split second, unable to even breathe, but then he regained his composure anew and quickly reached to retrieve another set of daggers. However, in spite of the fact that his brief stupor was only momentary, it was enough to become fatal for him, as before Zero could make a move, the Level E was already there, less than a second away from tearing into him.

Eyes wide, the older Kiryuu braced himself for the excruciating pain he knew would come while also readying himself to land the finishing blow to the vampire.

But his attacker never managed to reach him, as he was turned into ice and disintegrated into tiny pieces before either of the two knew it.

Zero blinked in bewilderment. His amethyst eyes went up and to the side to land on the newcomer standing in the doorway, his hunter senses only now registering the said person's familiar presence.

"Aidou-sempai...?" Never for the life of him had he thought that he would actually feel relief upon seeing the blond. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your pathetic self, apparently," the vampire replied with a huff, then crossed his arms over his chest with his chin raised high, "You better be grateful, Kiryuu."

Zero chose not to respond to the other's words and returned his attention to his injured arm instead. He could barely move his fingers, and the bleeding, along with the violent trembling and burning, refused to go away still. And now that he paid attention, he realized that he had also lost his Bloody Rose sometime during the struggle with the Level E.

Great. Just great.

"Hey! Are you listening?!"

He wasn't.

"Hey, Kiryuu! Hey!" Aidou continued trying still, now visibly annoyed. Apparently the noble didn't appreciate being ignored. What a surprise there.

Zero continued paying no heed to the vampire as his eyes automatically scanned the room in search of his weapon. Which he found the next second, lying only a few meters away from him, and an involuntary sigh of relief left him. He tried to get up then, but intense pain that flared up his arm in protest successfully stopped the teen in his tracks and he fell back, wincing and cursing softly under his breath.

"Kiryuu?" Aidou's voice sounded once more, this time much closer to him. "Hey, are you alri-" the blond continued, but cut himself off abruptly. "T-that wound…" It was only now, upon closer look, that he realized how serious it was. The amount of blood…

A sharp intake of breath reached the hunter's ears then, and he looked up curiously, only to find the noble vampire standing before him stiffly with his eyes wide and burning crimson as they stared at his damaged limb intently.

Zero blinked. _'Oh…'_ He cast his arm a brief glance course…

"Aidou-sempai…?"

The said male didn't respond and his eyes remained glued to the sight of Zero's blood. The silver-haired teen shifted slightly in his place, uncomfortable under the other's intense gaze. He tried calling the blond's name once more, succeeding this time, as Aidou returned his attention to him, seeming to have snapped out of his daze.

"It-it's nothing…" the noble mumbled quietly. He turned away and cleared his throat, still tense, his brows drawn together in a frown and eyes cast down.

Zero had serious doubts about the truthfulness behind the blond's words, but he chose not to pursue the matter.

Taking a deep breath, the hunter got up slowly, all the while wincing at the burning pain that screamed against the action, but not letting it get in his way this time around. He almost managed to straighten up when all of a sudden, he lost his balance, lightheaded, and went down once more. Zero mentally prepared himself for the blinding pain he knew would hit him upon the fall, but it never came, at least not with the intensity that he had expected it to as, to his greatest surprise, instead of the hard floor he was met with a warm body that supported his own unsteady one with startling carefulness the hunter never expected from Aidou of all people, especially towards him.

"H-hey, Kiryuu, are you alright?"

Zero didn't miss how shaky the noble vampire's voice sounded. Neither was he oblivious to the slightest trembling of the other's form and to his racing heartbeat. And if he looked up at Aidou's face, Zero was more than sure that he would see all the signs there to confirm his guess. The blond was obviously struggling with bloodlust – now even more so than before due to their close proximity.

Nevertheless, he chose to dismiss that unsurprising revelation and only gave a slight nod in response to the other's inquiry. It wasn't exactly the most important thing occupying his mind at the moment and quite frankly, reluctant as he was to admit it even to himself, he doubted he had much strength left to get into another verbal argument with Aidou. His vision was getting blurry and strength continued to leave him. If it wasn't for the noble's support, Zero was pretty sure that he would have long collapsed to the ground by now.

He didn't even want to think about what a pathetic sight he must make. To think that he had been so careless and allowed the situation to worsen _this_ far… Without a doubt, Ichiru would get unnecessarily worried and wouldn't leave his side for quite a while after such an event. And when their master found out about it…

Zero mentally groaned at the very thought. He really preferred not to go there.

All that, along with the fact that their _favorite 'Idol'_ would probably never let him live it down.

Zero groaned again, this time out loud. His day couldn't get any wor-

The hunter was brought out of his musings when he thought he felt something moist slide over the side of his neck for a briefest of moments. He was almost certain that it was his imagination, and was ready to dismiss it as that, if it wasn't for the vampire nuzzling his neck all of a sudden.

"Aidou-sempai…?" Zero called confusedly with a slightest hint of alarm in his voice.

That previously ghostly sensation returned, now much more palpable, and there was no mistaking it this time around. He already guessed what was about to happen next and he certainly did not welcome it. His head cleared once more then, and Zero tried to push the blond away from him, but instead of putting distance between them, that action only brought Aidou closer, as the noble pressed firmly to him and pushed him against the wall, his hold now bordering on painful.

The silver-haired teen could literally feel the other's rapid heartbeat and labored breathing, along with the trembling of his form. Zero could tell that the blond vampire was barely holding back from acting on his instincts and biting in right away.

The older Kiryuu never abandoned his attempts to get the blond male off him, but all of them turned out to be unsuccessful. Then all of a sudden his head was jerked back by his hair and there were two sharp fangs pressed against the side of his throat, and Zero stopped involuntarily, frozen in place. The next second came the familiar sensation of his skin being broken and the hunter couldn't help wincing slightly at the small sting it brought.

A muffled groan of pleasure sounded from Aidou when first drops of delicious crimson liquid hit his sensitive taste buds. The flavor was heavenly and it burst in his mouth beautifully, making his eyes roll to the back of his head and drawing a deep moan of gratification from him. It had been _too_ long since he had had warm, delicious, _real_ human blood right from the vein and now that he got his fangs on it, it tasted _too_ good to stop and let go of that irresistible taste.

However, Aidou was forced to do just that no more than a mere split second later when, out of the blue, he was violently ripped away from his meal and shoved into the opposite wall mercilessly with overwhelming force. The noble cried out in pain, his intoxicated mind still not quite able to grasp what had happened, but it did manage to register the fact that he now definitely had a few broken bones. Then came the unbearable pressure on his neck, it got almost impossible to breathe and for a brief moment the blond was sure that his throat would be crushed right there and then.

"What is the meaning of this, Aidou?" reached his ears along with a threatening growl. That voice was almost unrecognizable, but the noble still managed to identify it. And when he did, he could swear his heart had stopped beating for one long second.

His still cloudy eyes wide with fear, Aidou looked up at his lord, internally freezing at the terrifying sight before him. "K-Ka-Kan-na…me-sa-" he started stammeringly, but was cut off when Kaname tightened his fingers around his neck and pressed him further against the wall, heedless of the pathetic whimpers of pain that the action elicited.

The pureblood was _this_ close to actually giving in to his inner beast and simply snapping the stupid brat's neck, but a familiar voice that called his name weakly from the other side of the room stopped him from committing such uncharacteristically impulsive for him act. With another low growl, barely restraining himself from tightening his death grip further, Kaname tossed Aidou uncaringly to the side and quickly went back to Zero. The state he found the teen in only fueled his rage towards the blond noble, and briefly, he actually considered returning to the said individual and finishing what he had started. However, tending to Zero's wounds was much more important and there was no way that the pureblood would leave the boy's side anytime soon. Thus, Aidou was yet again saved from his enormous wrath. For now.

Carefully, Kaname took Zero in his arms and lifted him up bridal style, apologizing softly when he saw the boy wince slightly from the pain the movement had caused. Then, in a split second, the two were gone from the room, and Aidou let out an involuntary sigh of relief, for once genuinely happy to have his beloved _'Kaname-sama'_ leave him all alone. His posture visibly relaxed and even his wounds seemed to hurt much less with the oppressing aura of his leader gone.

Then after a short while sounds of hurried footsteps reached the noble vampire's ears, soon followed by two worried calls of his name. Blinking, Aidou lifted his head to see two familiar males walk into the room hastily, concern in their expressions morphing into surprise only to be replaced by an annoyingly knowing look in the end.

Simultaneously, two sighs sounded, and Aidou's brow twitched in irritation at the display.

"Hanabusa," Kain Akatsuki started wearily, already starting to mentally prepare himself for the punishment he _knew_ he would get together with his idiot genius of a cousin, _like always_. That was the way things worked with them and even the fact that he hadn't been anywhere _near_ Aidou at the time he had done whatever it was he had done to anger Kaname _this time_ wouldn't save him. It never did.

With another sigh, the fiery-haired vampire continued, "Do I even _want_ to know?"

"S-stop giving me that _look_!" Aidou protested, heatedly but not very convincingly. Kain could easily tell by the tone and the slight stutter that even his cousin himself didn't quite believe in his innocence. He helped the shorter blond stand up as the said male continued, "I-I didn't do anything! It was all that filthy Level E that injured him and then- and then…! Argh! It's not my fault that that stupid Kiryuu's blood was everywhere and that it _kind of_ smelt nice!"

That managed to attract Ichijou's undivided attention. With a nervous smile, the older blond spoke, "Um, Aidou-kun…Please tell me you didn't…" He didn't even want to finish that thought. It was too scary to say it out loud.

"What? It was just a taste," Aidou replied nonchalantly with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders.

Ichijou just stared, speechless and frozen in place. Kain let out another sigh, a very long and heavy one, and facepalmed inwardly.

 _'Oh God…'_ He did _not_ just hear that. His cousin did _not_ just say that and he absolutely had _not_ done what he said he had done. Otherwise the two of them were in huge, _huge_ trouble.

However, the expression on his _dear_ cousin's face said him everything he _didn't_ want to believe.

For the nth time in his life, Kain wished he lived somewhere on the Moon where his troublesome relative couldn't get him into mess. Although knowing Aidou…he guessed there was no guarantee that he would get his peace even somewhere so far away.

"Geez, Hanabusa…"

"What?" Aidou blinked innocently with a small frown gracing his features, his questioning gaze flickering from his cousin to Ichijou and back. "What's the big deal?" He honestly didn't get the reactions he received from the two.

Kain sighed deeply _again_ , barely restraining himself from facepalming for real.

For a genius, his cousin was _impossibly_ dense. And here he thought that Aidou noticed absolutely _everything_ when it came to Kaname…

But he was obviously terribly wrong. And now was definitely not the best of times to ponder on it, as he had _yet_ _another_ punishment to mentally prepare himself for.

With another long-suffering sigh, the fiery-haired noble shot his shorter cousin a reproachful look, while Ichijou on his side of events mentally thanked whoever was up and down and beyond there for his not being either one of his two unfortunate companions.


	10. Silent Tears

 

_Even in his deep, spell-induced sleep, somehow, on some unconscious level, he was still quietly aware of that same strange feeling he had been getting for some while by that time. And then, when he finally managed to wake up, it only intensified, and it was only then that he realized what it really was._

_At that dreadful yet strangely not as surprising as one might think comprehension, he got another familiar feeling that was the freezing coldness in the pit of his stomach. It rendered his body unconscious, although he himself was wide awake by then. So he lay, motionless and unresponsive, staring at the familiar white ceiling above him with his lavender eyes unblinking and unseeing._

_His mind was flooded with dozens upon dozens of thoughts while being completely blank and empty. Involuntarily, it recalled every uttered word, every small detail, every insignificant change in behavior, every silently thoughtful gaze, every inkling and every faintest sign that he had unconsciously refused to admit, refused to see and thus had simply dismissed on numerous occasions they had been there before his very eyes. And then another realization hit him. One that he dreaded just as much if not even more._

_Or maybe he had known. Somewhere deep, deep down. Deeper than one could imagine. O_ _n the deepest levels of his subconsciousness, maybe he_ had _realized it a long, long time ago._

 _He knew his brother better than anyone, after all. They were always together, since their very birth and even before that – literally. So it was only natural th_ _at whether they wanted it or not, they would feel each other unconsciously, without any words needed to be said. It worked on purely intuitive, instinctive level. Naturally, by no means did it allow them to know each other's thoughts, intentions and reason_ _ing, but it did grant them a certain amount of mutual understanding of each other. And although his counterpart could often be hard to read and even harder to predict even for him, deep down inside, he_ still _could at least guess what the one that was his o_ _ther half was up to and how far he would go to achieve that._

_It had always been that way. So whenever his brother did something supposedly unexpected, it was never so for him in the end._

_And this time, too…_

_He had known._

_No matter how fleeting and vague and deeply buried that unconscious knowledge had been, it still had taken residence in the roots of his consciousness._

_There had also been passing thoughts – almost nonexistent, barely present and so quick to disappear that they had been impossible to catch. But they had been there nonetheless, lurking somewhere in the back of his mind from time to time, even though he had never been quite aware of them._

_So he chose to ignore that cold feeling he kept getting. He chose to be oblivious and hope that 'it was nothing', that his instincts were wrong and that his brother wouldn't go as far as he was afraid he could._

_It had been easier that way. For many reasons._

_But it hadn't gone the way he had wished it would – obviously. And he could do nothing about it. Neither could he blame anyone but himself. His foolish, weak self._

_It never even occurred to him that quite possibly, there was nothing he could have done to prevent such turn of events. Nor did he ever think of actually pushing all the blame on the one who had played one of the more major roles in everything that had happened._

_He couldn't. Although maybe he should, and it wouldn't be surprising to do so._

_But he couldn't deny that on some level, he did understand_ why _his twin had done what he_ _had done. And it was true that a part of him – tiny as it was – had barely any arguments against it, if not agreed with it altogether. No matter how reluctant, guilty, regretful and terrified he was to realize it and to admit it even to himself…_

_Before he_ _knew it, his small body was being wrecked with tremors and he could feel hot moisture on his cheeks. His vision got blurry, his breathing quickened and tears refused to stop no matter how hard he tried to force them to. A choked sob escaped him, barely au_ _dible, soon followed by another one, and there would have been many more to come had he not smothered them with his trembling hands. The action made it hard to breathe, but he refused to let go._

_He turned onto his side and curled slightly into himself, his small form shaking._

**-o-**

Zero took in a slow shaky breath upon waking up.

It took him a few long moments to recognize his surroundings and comprehend where he was, and when he did, he heaved a deep sigh of relief.

There was slight blurriness in his vision, and he blinked to clear it, only then noticing moisture in the corners of his eyes. It slid down his cheekbones and Zero's lavender eyes widened a bit in startled realization.

Immediately, his hand went up to wipe away his tears that he was glad no one else was witness to. Then, when he was finished, another thing caught the silver-haired teen's attention. And that was the fact that he could move his hand freely again. The feel of it was a bit strange, that was for sure, but there was no pain whatsoever – surprisingly, considering the injury he had sustained.

Briefly, the hunter wondered if he had been asleep for much longer than he thought. And if he did...

 _'Ichiru…'_ was the first thing that came to Zero's mind, and he automatically made to get up from his lying position, when a warm body next to his own finally captured his attention, and his tense – unbeknown to him – muscles relaxed, and an inaudible sigh of relief fell from his lips.

For a long while, the older teen watched his counterpart's sleeping form silently, his gaze somewhat distant and contemplative. He turned onto his side slowly and reached out to stroke his twin's hair gently, then brushed a few loose silver strands out of Ichiru's closed eyes, his touches feathery so as not to wake the younger teen.

Then Zero withdrew his hand and, with another inaudible sigh, he sat up carefully and climbed out of the bed as quietly as he could. He left the room and his slightly unsteady at first legs automatically took familiar to them route to the kitchen, where he, not for the first time, went through the usual by now routine of making himself a cup of caramel tea and drinking it slowly while staring through the widow at the night scenery with a distant look in his amethyst eyes.

That was how Kaname found Zero upon his hasty arrival at Cross's living quarters some time later. And the sight, while sweetly nostalgic, made his rapidly beating heart squeeze painfully for some reason.

Kaname entered the room quietly, but strangely, Zero failed to notice him, apparently too absorbed in his musings. A faint frown made its way on the brunet vampire's features briefly at the younger teen's lack of response. But he stayed silent and just remained where he was, only continuing to watch Zero wordlessly, unknowingly entranced by the sight in front of him.

It seemed like hours had passed before the silence was broken as Kaname uttered the silver-haired teen's name quietly, his voice no louder than a whisper, soft and gentle.

Zero's unmoving form gave an involuntary start then, notably tenser than before, and lilac eyes widened slightly as their owner came out of his daze at long last. His clear gaze shot to the pureblood then, surprise evident in it, before it was replaced by subtle yet genuine joy and what the brunet could only assume was…relief…?

Kaname couldn't help the familiar warmth that spread in his chest at that sight. Internally though, he scolded himself for God knows what time for his foolishbehavior. It was so… _human_ , for the lack of a better word. And it was absolutely unbecoming to him, to say the least. Yet he couldn't do anything about it even after such a long time of being well acquainted with it. It was just out of his control still, no matter what he did. To his greatest frustration.

All those feelings that he had been experiencing for the last few years never stopped being new and confusing to him, and it would be an understatement to say that they were close to driving him insane from time to time. Which gave him all the more reason to want them _all_ under his total control. One had _no idea_ how much easier it would have made his life...

Kaname sighed inwardly, feeling that same stupid yet undeniably pleasant _warmth_ only spread further and increase in its intensity a bit.

Secretly though, the pureblood reveled in it. To his chagrin.

"Kaname," Zero said softly with a faint and somewhat tired smile on his lips. The brunet vampire had to scold himself internally once more for the flutter his treacherous heart gave.

Zero continued, "Sorry, I haven't noticed you enter..." Not that it was unusual, but he still couldn't quite get used to it. "You always manage to sneak up on me like that." A small chuckle escaped the younger teen and his smile widened ever so slightly, his form now visibly more relaxed.

Zero continued after a brief silence, blinking curiously at the brunet male, "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Kaname faltered at the question, now frantically trying to find a plausible excuse for his late – _very_ late,in human hours – visit. Which he managed to find soon enough and without much trouble, courtesy of his fast thinking and cunning mind. "Um…I sensed that you woke up and…well, I came to see if you are alright…" Yet before he knew what was going on, his lips were moving of their own accord and he was speaking _the truth_ instead. The brunet mentally kicked himself, barely holding back from performing the act for real.

What _the hell_ was he doing...?

"Oh…" Zero blinked, doubtlessly taken aback a little by the other's reply. "Thanks…I'm okay." The silver-haired teen's smile returned to his features, his bewilderment gone. "Only a bit tired is all."

A worried frown appeared on Kaname's features, "You should rest some more. Your injuries might have closed, but your body is not fully recovered yet."

Zero nodded absently, "Mm, I guess…" He stayed quiet for a few seconds, lost in thought, before returning his attention to the brunet vampire to ask, "How long have I been asleep for exactly?"

Zero lifted the cup in his hands slightly in a wordless offer of one for the pureblood as well, and Kaname nodded absently with a small grateful smile making its way on his lips. He went to help Zero when the boy got up to make his tea, replying, "It's been three days today."

The hunter faltered in his motions for a moment, his surprised gaze turning to Kaname as he asked in disbelief, " _Three days_?" Ichiru must have been worried sick this whole time…

Then another thought hit the silver-haired teen, and his amethyst eyes went to his right hand, a thoughtful expression coming to his features, while his other hand went up to touch the side of his neck unconsciously. Zero returned his attention to the brunet male beside him after a long moment of contemplation.

"You healed those injuries for me, didn't you?" They had been too serious to disappear in such a short amount of time. He had known so from the moment he realized that they weren't there anymore, but it was only then that he actually gave proper thought to it.

Kaname didn't reply verbally, but gave a silent nod.

In response to which Zero presented him with another soft, gentle smile that secretly took the pureblood's breath away, and uttered a quiet _'Thank you'_ before returning to his momentarily forgotten task. The two lapsed into companionable silence after that.

Kaname watched his drink being made with childlike excitement twinkling briefly in his burgundy orbs. Which Zero didn't fail to catch, and he couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle at the sight.

"It's just tea, yet you have the same look as Yuuki when I make her a cake." To say that it was endearing would be an understatement. Especially when it was _Kaname_ who had that kind of look on his usually stoic face.

The pureblood blinked at the comment, not for the first time surprised by the hunter's ability to see through his expressions. A soft smile returned to his lips, he gave a light shrug with his shoulders and replied, "Well, it _is_ my favorite drink. And it is not very often that I get an opportunity to have it."

Zero tilted his head slightly to the side, blinking, "Why not?"

"Because here is the only place where I can have it."

Receiving another inquiring look from the silver-haired teen, Kaname chuckled softly, before answering to the boy's wordless question, "No one can make caramel tea as delicious as yours, Zero-kun."

The young hunter couldn't help the faint blush that made its sneaky way on his face at the compliment and the undeniably charming smile Kaname flashed him. Immediately, he turned away, mumbling to himself about stupid purebloods and their shameless sweet talk, in response to which the brunet male only gave another heartily chuckle, quite obviously enjoying the reaction he got from Zero.

"Are you alright, Zero-kun?" Kaname spoke again with a masterly feigned frown of genuine concern. "Your face looks a bit red…"

"Shut up," Zero responded in a barely audible voice. His cheeks got even redder and he mentally cursed the pureblood, positively refusing to meet the said male's gaze.

But it looked like Kaname wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. The brunet continued, "But Zero-kun, it could be serious…You could be running a fever from too much strain during recovery. Your face became even more flushed than it was before…" The younger teen's brow twitched at the other's words and the tone they were spoken in. He couldn't believe the level of the vampire's acting skills. "Even your _ears_ and _neck_ seem to have turned red…" Kaname finished sneakily and Zero could literally feel with his _s_ _kin_ how much fun the pureblood was having at his expense and how hard he was trying not to burst into a _huge_ grin and start laughing.

 _'That bastard…'_ Another twitch of a silver eyebrow.

"I am _perfectly fine_ , thank you very much," Zero finally gave his reply, still refusing to face the older male. And it definitely was _not_ a pout that was slowly making its way on his face as well.

"Is that so…" Kaname trailed off with an annoyingly innocent look on his face. Zero could just _hear_ that huge grin in the other's voice, even though it remained _'_ _genuinely worried_ _'_.

" _Yes_. And if you say anything else, you won't get any of your _'favorite drink'_ at all for a _very_ long time," the hunter threatened lightly with a small challenging smile, his lilac eyes finally meeting the garnet ones, silently daring their owner to try and tease him further.

Kaname gave the hunter a hurt look in response, his hand going to settle over his chest dramatically. "Zero-kun…Certainly you wouldn't be so cruel…?"

Zero arched an eyebrow at the brunet's expression before commenting on it, "Don't you give me that look. It won't work."

"What look?" Kaname asked, inclining his head slightly to the side and blinking innocently.

" _That_ look. The sad-puppy-eyed one." Zero internally steeled himself. He would _not_ fall for that this time around. Yuuki and Ichiru were enough already, he didn't need _Kaname_ to team up with those two as well. "When did you start using it on people anyway?"

"Hmm…" Kaname pretended to ponder over his reply to the question. "Just now?" He answered with a playful smile on his face.

The silver-haired teen's eyebrow twitched once more. "Decided to join Yuuki and Ichiru's little club, didn't you?"

Kaname gave a light chuckle and a small shrug, "I don't know. Am I qualified enough?"

"Oh yes, you certainly are. The three of you are masters of manipulating me to your liking."

"My, what an honor…" the pureblood let out another chuckle, this one accompanied by a mock bow that earned him a light smack upside the head and an amused smile from the hunter.

Zero finished preparing the drink for Kaname and handed it to the said male, who accepted his cup gratefully. Comfortable silence settled over the room once more as its occupants made themselves comfortable at the table and began sipping their caramel tea quietly.

The two stayed like that for some while, simply enjoying each other's familiar presences. But the playful mood that had settled between them wasn't bound to stay for too long, unfortunately, as much sooner than Zero would have wished, his mind went back to the moment when he woke up from his long rest.

He remembered the dream he had had. Which in turn led him to recalling the night that that same dream had been about. And with it every detail of that night all those years ago returned to him, so _real_ and so… _impossibly inescapable_.

It wasn't the first time that those unwanted recollections came back to haunt him, no. But _this one_ felt especially intense. So much so that he thought it would suffocate him at some point.

Even right now, he could feel an unpleasant tightness in his chest.

Zero took a slow, shuddering breath, clutching his mug a little tighter with his suddenly ice-cold fingers.

"Zero-kun?" Kaname called, worried for real this time, and the silver-haired teen blinked, startled, before looking up at the pureblood. He stayed silent, however, so the brunet vampire continued, "What is…um," Kaname faltered, uncertain. Discreetly, he took a deep breath to muster some courage and calm himself down, "Is everything alright?"

The pureblood mentally kicked himself for his idiotic question. Of course everything was _not_ alright. That much was _more_ than obvious, wasn't it?

Zero didn't respond right away. For a few long seconds, he just gazed at Kaname wordlessly with a thoughtful, slightly distant look on his face, which managed to make the brunet vampire all the more uncharacteristically nervous. But he hid it remarkably well, as always, and only continued waiting for the younger boy's reply silently.

Which he received soon enough, in a form of an undeniably beautiful yet impossibly sad smile that made Kaname's heart throb painfully in his chest. His throat felt dry all of a sudden and he couldn't utter a word. There was an indescribably strong urge in him to reach out and touch the other, to cup his smooth cheek and run a thumb over that warm, soft skin to brush away the non-existent tears he clearly saw there.

But he restrained himself, with much effort, and stayed where he was, with his heart beating away wildly against his ribcage and his lungs unable to function properly.

Then Zero gave a small nod. The pureblood knew that silent response was a lie, but he chose not to comment on it.

"Is there…anything I can do...?" Kaname asked softly instead after a moment's hesitation.

Zero blinked, taken aback slightly. His smile left his lips and for a few long seconds, he just stared wordlessly at the vampire before him, thus making the said male even more nervous than he already was. Although, naturally, Kaname did a splendid job of preventing any signs of it from showing on his face this time around as well.

Then slowly, another smile, this one much less pained, made its way on Zero's face, and Kaname let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. For a few more seconds, the hunter remained quiet, and then replied, "You already did." His posture relaxed involuntarily and a soft sigh escaped him. That overwhelming sadness slowly left the teen's features and he continued, "Thank you, Kaname."

**-o-**

"Zero…" Ichiru breathed out, relief evident in his voice as well as in his features as he entered the kitchen, flustered. A deep sigh left him, and a gentle smile automatically made its way on his lips as he hurried to his brother's side to pull him into a tight embrace. "You're finally awake…You're okay…" He buried his face into Zero's neck to inhale his counterpart's familiar scent deeply, his arms unconsciously tightening around the other's form.

"Mm," the older Kiryuu nodded lightly, immediately returning the embrace and smiling softly at his twin's evident worry for him. "I'm okay. I'm sorry for scaring you, Ichiru."

The younger teen shook his head wordlessly and tightened his hold on Zero some more, drawing in another calming breath. His brother's hand was on his head the next second, patting it comfortingly, and all remaining traces of previous panic and agitation left Ichiru altogether.

The two remained that way, quietly basking in each other's familiar warmth and calming presences, with Zero continuing to stroke his twin's hair tenderly. The younger teen let out a soft sigh, his eyes closed and expression content. An air of tranquility came over him from his counterpart's ministrations that were beginning to slowly lull him to sleep.

"Tired?" Zero's slightly muffled voice reached him through his light daze. Ichiru shook his head lazily with a faint _'Uh-uh'_ , then spoke after a few seconds, "I've had too much rest already." He had been staying by his twin's side the whole time Zero had been unconscious. Sure it could hardly be called a nice and peaceful rest, but it was more than enough nevertheless.

 _'As I thought…'_ the older hunter thought to himself with a sigh. He really did scare Ichiru, didn't he?

Zero couldn't help the pang of guilt he felt at that knowledge. He loathed making his twin so distressed, even if it never was on purpose.

"I'm sorry," Zero apologized quietly once more, and received the same response from Ichiru as the last time. A soft smile lifted up the corners of the older teen's lips and a small chuckle escaped him.

"You hungry?"

"Mm," Ichiru gave a lazy nod with his chin resting on his twin's shoulder, thus eliciting another chuckle from Zero.

"Come on, Ichiru," the older boy nudged his counterpart to let go and stand on his own again. Otherwise Zero was more than certain that they wouldn't move an inch from where they were currently standing for a very long time. Ichiru whined childishly in protest, but complied nevertheless.

Another chuckle, this one of pure amusement, came from Zero and the younger teen raised an eyebrow in an unspoken inquiry.

"Your head is a mess," the older Kiryuu replied with a warm smile, his lilac orbs twinkling with mirth and undeniable affection. It was only now that he actually noticed the very _interesting_ state his twin's hair was in. To say that it was hilarious to look at would be an understatement.

"Shut up," Ichiru mumbled sulkily, his hand going up unconsciously to smooth his disheveled locks. "I ran here right away after waking up."

"Mm," Zero nodded, smiling warmly. "I know." He reached out to help his other half in his actions, then continued, "You go wash up while I set the table. Cross and Yuuki should be up soon too."

"Okay," Ichiru responded absently with a small nod of his own. He was about to turn around and be on his way out of the room, but something in the corner of his vision caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks. His gaze fixed on whatever he saw there and, imperceptibly, his expression darkened.

"Kuran was here…" it was a statement, not a question.

Zero blinked, and his eyes followed his twin's gaze silently.

"Yeah," the older Kiryuu replied with a nod. He returned his attention to Ichiru, asking with a subtle tilt of his head, "How did you know?"

"That's his cup." And who else would come here in the middle of the night unannounced like that? It could only be that stalker.

"Kaname has a cup?"

"Yeah. You always give him that one whenever he comes."

Did he?

"Mm," Ichiru nodded and Zero realized he had unknowingly voiced his last thoughts. His counterpart continued, "No one else uses it."

"Oh…I never noticed." He really hadn't.

"Yeah, I figured as much," the younger teen replied with a long sigh. Honestly, sometimes Zero's complete ignorance when it came to certain things…Ichiru had to seriously reconsider his approval of it. "I take it that bastard is not joining us?" There was _no_ freaking way _in hell_ of that leech leaving his brother's side while he was anywhere near him otherwise. That persistent, annoying, stubborn, _unabl_ _e-to-take-a-freaking-hint_ son of a-

"No. He said he couldn't this time."

"Oh." Well, his day definitely brightened up just now. "What a pity," Ichiru did nothing to hide the glaring content in his tone.

Zero couldn't help chuckling softly at his other half's unsurprising reaction. He reached out to ruffle Ichiru's already messy enough hair affectionately. "Yeah, right. I can _feel_ that smirk of yours, you know."

He only received an uncaring shrug and a widening of the aforementioned smirk in response, before Ichiru left the room to get ready for breakfast.

Zero shook his head lightly and watched his twin go with a soft smile that lingered on his lips for a short while before leaving altogether. Sadness returned to his features then, pain flickering in his lilac orbs briefly. He took in a deep breath before exhaling shakily. His gaze turned to the window and Zero stared into it absently, standing in his place motionlessly.

It was raining now. And it would be dawn soon. With it another day would come and everything would go on as usual – it always did. Nothing would change, and everything would be alright.

 _'It will be alright…'_ Zero repeated in his head. Then again. And again, to convince himself for sure, like he had done a long time ago.

But it didn't quite work.

An unpleasant feeling washed over him. A strange and uncomfortable, yet eerily familiar one. It settled somewhere deep, deep within him and refused to go away, but Zero chose to ignore its existence.

_Like he had done in the past…_

Because there was nothing else he could do about it, even if subconsciously, he knew that he probably shouldn't do so.

His chest tightened all of a sudden and the hunter drew in another deep breath, before releasing it slowly, quietly. He remained where he was for another few seconds, then turned away from the window at long last and started going about his self-appointed task of setting the table for breakfast.

**-o-**

_After what felt like an eternity, he was out of the cold barely existent comfort of his bed and headed downstairs, carried there slowly by his legs on their own accord._

_It was pitch dark. And cold. Freezing cold, and Zero could feel his bare feet begin to go a little numb. A thought that the front door was probably open flickered briefly somewhere in the back of his mind, soon followed by another one that maybe he should close it. But they were so fleeting and insignificant that they didn't even manage to register within him. So he never stopped in his tracks and continued on his way through the darkness, and before he knew it, he arrived at his destination._

_And the sight that greeted him there made his heart stop for a few long, impossibly long and frightening moments during which he couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move and couldn't feel anything other than pure terror that shook him to the very core of his being._

_"Ichiru," Zero breathed out almost inaudibly when his lungs started working again. His eyes were wide with fear and panic and his small form started trembling from something much worse and scarier than coldness of the winter._

_His chest tightened painfully and his heart raced. On unsteady legs, he moved forward._

_"Ichiru," Zero repeated his twin's name, still breathless. Then again. And again. And again, with panic in his voice increasing every time he was met with nothing but silence._

_He took Ichiru's unmoving form into his arms as he kneeled down on the cold floor upon making it to his brother's side, and an involuntary sigh of relief escaped him._

_He was alive. He was breath_ _ing. It was slow, abnormally slow, and Zero could barely catch the sound of it, but Ichiru_ was _breathing. So he was alive, and he would be okay…Right…?_

 _But then his relief died down as his fingers went to brush away a few silver strands from Ichiru's_ _closed eyes. And panic returned and intensified tenfold as he realized that his twin had a fever. A_ raging _fever that was stronger than any he had had before._

_Zero exhaled a shaky breath, frozen, his mind completely blank._

_"Ichiru…" he called softly again, his hand continuing to caress his twin's disturbingly warm cheek gently. It was an unconscious habit of his that always calmed him down whenever he was worried about his counterpart. But it didn't help at all this time around…_

_Still, his fingers continued caressing the pale skin beneath them carefully, and Zero continued calling Ichiru's name hopefully every now and again in a faint whisper. He held his twin tighter, as tightly as he could with his suddenly weakened arms. His gaze was fixed on the familiar face before him, unblinking and scared and silently panicking._

_A thought crossed his mind. That he should call for help, that he should do something, that he should get somebody…_ anybody _to help_ _them, to help_ Ichiru _. And, naturally, the first ones that he_ _thought of were their parents._

_So he opened his mouth to call for them, but no sound escaped him as he remembered what was going on._

_And once again, he realized…_

_That they wouldn't respond if he called. That they wouldn't be able to help. That he wouldn't see them again…_

_Because they were forever gone…_

_And at that moment another thought came to him. That he should go to them, to see them one last time. He wanted to, he really did. But…_

_Zero took in a sharp breath. His eyes were smarting again all of a sudden and he felt moisture trickle down his cheeks._

_He was scared. And guilty. And too ashamed to face them._

_So he stayed where he was, holding his brother even tighter and sobbing quietly, unable to move as he sat on the cold floor of the night-engulfed house, surrounded with nothing but haunted silence and overwhelming fear and only his twin's unconscious, feverish form to hold on to._

_He never stopped calling Ichiru's name quietly, again and again, now also asking him to wake up and just 'be alright'…_

_While inwardly, he kept telling himself over and over again, 'It will be alright…'_


	11. Slipping Time

 

"Are you certain that this information is correct, Takuma?" Kaname asked, secretly hopeful to receive a negative answer from his childhood friend.

Unfortunately for him though, his selfish wish wasn't granted, as the noble vampire in front of him nodded wordlessly, and Kaname had to suppress a sigh of frustration from escaping him at the other's response. Needless to say, he was more than disappointed at the news. Though his perfect mask of impassiveness showed none of those emotions on the surface. But Takuma still managed to catch on to it instinctively, having known the pureblood long enough to notice that much.

"I'm afraid so, Kaname-sama," the noble spoke with a small, a bit guilty smile on his face. "I have verified it personally beforehand."

"I see…" the brunet vampire trailed off, giving a small absent nod of his own.

A short silence fell over the room, before Takuma sounded once more, hesitant, "Kaname…Do you think it's…" He didn't need to finish his sentence for the pureblood to know what he wanted to ask.

Kaname didn't respond, contemplative, his expression somber. He _really_ didn't want it to be happening. And he didn't want to believe that it actually _was_ happening even more.

He just wanted a bit more time. A bit more peaceful time with the ones that he cared for. With the _one_ that he cared for. Because these few past years had been so fleeting…And the amount of time he had had the opportunity to spend with _him_ was so insignificant, no matter how precious…Undeniably fulfilling and enjoyable, yes, but it still wasn't enough.

The pureblood would have laughed at the irony of his situation, if it didn't feel so frighteningly real and wasn't so distressing. Not so long ago he would have given _anything_ only to speed up the process of things and get to the point where he would be standing soon enough from that moment onwards. Whereas now all he wanted was for the time to slow down for as long as possible and for the peaceful and relatively quiet days to continue.

He just wanted more time with the one he loved – simple as that.

But he didn't have that luxury. To his greatest regret. And that simple fact was staring at him so intently that he couldn't pretend not to notice it anymore. No matter how strongly he wanted to continue doing just that for as long as he could…

Kaname let out a heavy sigh, his fingers going up to massage the bridge of his nose.

He was feeling impossibly tired all of a sudden.

**-o-**

What Yuuki couldn't help but notice was that before she even had a chance of getting what was going on, her life had become all too complicated for her still developing mind to grasp. When one shocking revelation just befell her, thus shaking up her entire world and betraying pretty much everything she believed in, another one, no less unexpected and unthinkable, followed after it mercilessly all too soon for her liking. And just when she thought that _nothing_ could throw her off after… _that_ discovery that Ichiru had all but pushed her into making.

Honestly, with the way things were going, Yuuki was certain that universe was just making fun of her in the cruelest and most twisted of ways possible. There was no other probable explanation she could come up with to make sense out of anything that had been happening around her lately. Which, in turn, made her come to conclusion that maybe…she really would have been much better off not knowing any of the truth about her surroundings at all. At least that way she would have been much happier – she knew for sure, after all, it wasn't so long ago that she had been oblivious to pretty much everything around her and lived a happy, if not blissfully sheltered life.

 _Yet why…_ the little brunet kept wondering to herself, _why couldn't she just forget everything and return to that period…?_

She never expected something like _that_ to happen and for it to affect her that much.

Not even a single thought had ever occurred to her of the possibility of someone so close to her to not be the one she _thought_ she knew them to be. And, again, the effect of unexpectedly revealed – or more like stumbled upon – truth was much stronger than she could imagine.

And moreover…Never in her life had she imagined that she would _ever_ feel that way towards one of the most precious to her people in the entire world. She never even knew that such emotions _could_ reside in her. They were too ugly and too unjustified. But even despite knowing that, she couldn't help herself, couldn't shut them off. No matter how scared and ashamed she was of them…

Not for the first time that morning, Yuuki let out a quiet sigh, still very reluctant to get up in spite of the fact that she had been awake for quite a while already. She really didn't feel like leaving the bed and then going about her usual routine. Granted, it was Saturday, so she didn't have to go to school, which allowed her to sleep in as much as she wanted. But still, she knew that sooner or later, she would have to get up, leave her room and face the facts yet again.

At that thought, a small groan escaped the girl and she turned to her side and curled slightly into herself, closing her eyes and pulling the blankets all the way over her head. Images of what she had chanced upon witnessing just yesterday night flooded her mind for the umpteenth time that morning, so vivid it felt like she was back there again, patrolling the grounds of the Cross Academy she had just recently entered…

_Yuuki blew her whistle in yet another futile attempt to get the horde of excited, squealing fangirls to calm down and step back to form at least some semblance of line. Needless to say, it did nothing to stop the hormonal females of the Day Class from continuing to go crazy over the impending arrival of their idols and pushing her small form even more persistently in order to get to the soon-to-be opened double gates as close as they could._

_It was amazing though, really, how she still managed to remain standing on her feet in the face of this raging beast that were the fangirls. Yuuki almost wanted to puff her chest and throw Ichiru, who was standing just across from her, a smug look of small victory._

_If only she weren't so busy fighting to stay upright with all her might at the moment…_

_Still,_ _the brunet managed to sneak a glance at her adopted brother to see how_ he _was faring, secretly hoping to find the said silver-_ _haired male in the same predicament_ _as her. But what Yuuki witnessed was far from her expectations, to her greatest disappointment._

_The girl's eyebrow twitched._

_Ichiru didn't even have to lift a finger to get the girls on his side to behave. All he did was stand idly with his hands in his pockets while the fangirls behind him remained in their place obediently, forming a perfect line as they stared up at her adopted brother, nearly drooling, while Ichiru was all but falling asleep there already. At least so the yawn he had given just a moment before suggested._

_Another twitch of a dark eyebrow. Was she being mocked by someone up there or something?_

_The_ _n Ichiru's somewhat glazed eyes turned to her and gave her a long, blank stare, before clea_ _ring and suddenly lighting up with_ _mirth. An amused, arrogant smirk lifted the corners of his lips up then, and Yuuki's brow twitched_ yetagain _in understandable irrit_ _ation at the older teen._

Damn that smug, condescending, ever-the-bully adopted brother of hers! _Yuuki mentally screamed to herself, frustrated. It took everything in her not to stomp her small foot right there and then – childish, she knew, but couldn't_ _do anything about it – and go over to kick Ichiru's ass._

_The brunet girl grimaced inwardly at her last thought._

_Well, of course she would hardly be able to do that, as the older teen was much stronger than her, and if Ichiru ever got serious about their_ _frequent fights, she knew it would doubtlessly be_ him _kicking_ her _ass. If Zero didn't interfere_ _, of course. Which he would certainly do – he always stepped in to save her from his spoiled twin's constant teasing. He was the only one who could actually_ _succeed in doing that._

 _Honestly, why couldn't Ichiru be more like Zero? Why did he just_ have to _always be his insufferable, smartass self?_

_Yuuki mentally huffed in exasperation._

_And that stupid smirk on Ichiru's face grew wider, as if he knew what she was thinking and was now making fun of her further._

_The dark eyebrow twitched once more._

_And he wasn't even going to help her, was he…? Even though he clearly saw how much trouble she was having with holding back her half of the crazed group of fangirls._

_Squeals behind the brunet girl got louder all of a sudden and the pushing increased in its insistence. It was only then that Yuuki noticed that the massive doors of the double gates had creaked open and the students of the Night Class were already slowly making their way from the territory of the Moon Dormitory and towards the main school building._

_"Hello, my lovely ladies!" came from Aidou who, predictably, was a few steps ahead of the whole group of vampires and started greeting his fans enthusiastically. "You look cute today as well!" He finished, before adding more fuel to the fire and making a dramatic show of blowing the crowd of now even more excited girls kisses, thus making Yuuki's prefect job that much harder._

_The little brunet was about to voice her disapproval and start berating the blond noble for his behavior when an all too familiar voice of her adopted brother sounded, thus preventing her from saying anything._

_"Honestly, Aidou-sempai…" Ichiru started with a small sigh and a condescending smile playing on his lips. "It's been over a_ year _already. Do you really have_ that _little imagination that you can't_ _even find some other semblances of pick-up lines to use?"_

_The blond responded with an indignant huff, then answered verbally, "Say whatever you want, Kiryuu. I'm not going to fall for your provocations this time."_

_Ichiru arched an eyebrow. Yuuki thought he would be at least a little surprised by the unusual reaction he got from Aidou, but if anything, it looked like he was only more amused now. Which, Yuuki knew for sure by now, didn't promise any favorable outcome for the noble vampire. At that moment the brunet girl actually felt a bit sorry for poor naive Aidou._

_Because thinking that he would be able to actually get away from Ichiru's taunts so simply, by trying to merely ignore the silver-haired male, was nothing but naive – even Yuuki knew that in spite of her cluelessness about a fair amount of subjects._

_Internally, the girl shook her head sympathetically, feeling increasingly sorry for the blond vampire._

_Who, as Yuuki had predicted, didn't last for very long in his valiant attempt at staying unaffected by Ichiru and his snide remarks. Sooner than even she expected, her adopted brother had Aidou completely playing into his hands, and the blond male's inevitable loss was more than evident even then, as the two went on with their customary one-sided verbal fight that was bound to result in 'Idol' getting his ass whipped. Figuratively speaking, of course._

_"Good evening, Yuuki."_

_The brunet girl's eyes widened slightly in surprise upon hearing her name called by another familiar to her ears voice._

_"K-Kaname-sama!" Yuuki exclaimed in response, turning her complete attention to the tall brunet male that had come to a stop beside her before she knew. A faint blush spread over her cheeks upon meeting the warm gaze of her precious savior. She froze for a moment under those garnet eyes before coming to herself and giving the pureblood a polite bow and answering with a quiet 'Good evening' of her own, still flustered._

_"How have you been faring? I hope your new duties don't put too much strain on you?" Kaname inquired with a slight tilt of his head and a small frown crossing his features briefly._

_"Of course not, Kaname-sama! Everything is great," the smaller brunet replied cheerfully with a big smile and a small laugh. "Please don't worry about me."_

_"I see…I'm glad to hear that." A soft smile made its way on the pureblood's features, his hand going up to pat Yuuki's auburn hair affectionately. Which only made the said girl blush even more furiously. Although it would be pointless to deny that she did enjoy the attention she was receiving from her prince._

_But she didn't get to relish these precious moments for too long, as the next second that smooth hand left her head and Kaname asked her a question that made her happy mood dampen a bit, albeit involuntarily._

_"And…Zero-kun isn't helping you today, as I see…?" Kaname's gaze swept over his surroundings absently. It was barely noticeable, but Yuuki managed to catch a brief flicker of disappointment in the other's eyes before it disappeared after a moment. The taller brunet turned to her again then, with a faint frown back on his face, "Is he not feeling well?"_

_"No…" the girl murmured a bit absently. Then she continued, this time more loudly, with a weak smile on her face, "No, he is alright. He should join us later."_

_"Is that so…"_

_Yuuki gave a nod in response, feeling a small pang at seeing the way Kaname's face seemed to lighten up ever_ _so slightly, almost imperceptibl_ _y, for a brief second upon hearing her words. She couldn't help wondering silently to herself if the_ _signs had been really so obvious this whole time. And if so, how on earth had she managed to continuously miss_ all _of them until just recently? Was she really_ that _oblivious…?_

_There was a familiar snort in Yuuki's mind that sounded suspiciously like Ichiru, and the girl decided it was enough of an answer to her last question._

_"I will see you later then," Kaname's voice reached her again as the pureblood resumed moving towards the school building with his group of followers. He gave her another gentle smile along with a slight inclination of his head before throwing over his shoulder a soft, "Have a good night."_

_Yuuki nodded automatically and silently watched the retreating back of the pureblood for a few minutes, until the said male disappeared into the school building. She sighed, her small shoulders sagging involuntarily._

_"Alright, girls. Time to get back to your dorms. The show is over," Ichiru's voice came, snapping Yuuki out of her short-lived daze._

_"Will you escort us there, Ichiru-kun?" One brave fangirl asked, battling her eyelashes at the younger Kiryuu twin hopefully. Yuuki fought the urge to roll her eyes at the display, and only did so inwardly._

_Honestly, what were those girls acting all flirty for? Yuuki really couldn't get what they w_ _ere thinking. It was Ichiru._ Ichiru _of all people! He was a meanie and a bully and a total jerk, always having fun at other people's expense. She honestly had no idea what was so good about him that all the girls seemed to see._

_The little brunet huffed mentally to herself._

_Zero was so much better. His only flaw was that he was too much of a softy when it came to his twin. Though that actually could be sort of endearing at times. Only not when Ichiru was there to exploit it and reap whatever benefits he could, all smug and pleased with himself with that annoying grin of triumph plastered firmly on his face._

'Stupid Ichiru!' _Yuuki cried whiningly in her mind. Then added in a smaller voice sulkily,_ 'And stupid Zero for being so weak against Ichiru's tricks…'

_But her favorite adopted brother was still better._

_Yuuki nodded firmly to herself._

_She totally could understand it when those girls behaved the way they currently did towards Zero, but towards_ Ichiru _…?_

_The brunet prefect shook her head inwardly._

_They really were blind, weren't they? And that false image they had of Zero…Honestly, that alone spoke volumes of how unbelievably ignorant they were, mistaking his quiet and calm demeanor for coldness, when he was anything_ but _. Though the fangirls deem_ _ed that 'cool' too, so Zero's popularity with them didn't wane in the slightest – they only were more hesitant to approach him in comparison to Ichiru. But that still didn't stop them from secretly drooling over him from afar at any opportunity they got._

_"And willingly put my innocence under threat?" Ichiru replied to the hopeful fangirl's question with a small snort, "Not a chance."_

_He received a set of giggles in response before the group of girls proceeded with their attempts at persuading Ichiru into walking them to the Sun Dorms. Unsurprisingly, they didn't succeed and had to go back on their own with dejected air around them. Again._

_Ha! Served them right!_

_Yuuki mentally stuck out her tongue at the retreating group of disappointed girls._

_Zero would have definitely agreed. Reluctantly, yes, but he would have. Sure the request wouldn't have been granted in the end anyway, as Ichiru would have dragged the older boy away before he got a chance to do so, but still._

_"How long are you going to just_ _stand there? Your_ 'Prince Charming' _is long gone._ _Get to patrolling already,"_ _came from_ _Ichiru_ _addressed to_ _her_ _then and Yuuki's eyebrow twitched_ again _._

 _She huffed exasperatedly before answering, "Shut up, you jerk! I was just going to do it! Besides,_ you _are the last person I want to hear that from! You always slack off!_ _"_

_"Yeah, yeah," the older teen gave a dismissive wave of his hand, already sauntering off to carry out his own prefect duties – or so Yuuki hoped. "Later at the usual place," Ichiru threw at her absently, and the brunet girl was left alone._

_The night turned out to be relatively uneventful, with only a couple of Day Class girls to send back to their dorm after they snuck out to catch a glimpse of the Night Class students. The patrolling had gone smoothly and Yuuki had finished her task sooner than expected. So she had decided to help Ichiru with his part of the school grounds and thus was currently looking for the said silver-haired male._

_She had been on it for some time now, but her adopted brother was nowhere in sight. Then, after an_ _other while of fruitless searching, a thought that maybe Ichiru had gone and ditched her_ again _crossed her mind, and a deep frown creased the brunet girl's brows. Yet she didn't drop her self-appointed task and continued looking, though still unsuccessfull_ _y in the end._

 _Soon Yuuki lost all hope of finding the silver-haired teen and was by then ready to give up on her search, silently fuming at Ichiru and strongly determined to not just give him an earful – sure she knew he would hardly care, but at least i_ _t would make her feel better – but also try and kick his lazy ass_ for real _._

'Yeah, right,' _crossed Yuuki's mind along with a derisive snort, sounding suspiciously like Ichiru, and the girl's eyebrow twitched for the umpteenth time that night._

_Stupid Ichiru. She already knew it was unachievable for her to beat him, but it didn't hurt to dream a bit, did it?_

_"Wait, Ichiru-"_

_Yuuki stopped in her tracks and snapped out of her musings then. She thought she had heard another voice that was no less familiar to her, and she looked around in search of its source, but there was no one in the vicinity. For a minute there, the girl thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her, and a small frown made its way on her features. Shrugging, Yuuki was about to continue on her way, but then that voice that she was more than certain belonged to Zero sounded once more. It was as barely audible as the last time, but it was enough to leave no doubt in Yuuki's mind that she had indeed heard it._

_The girl headed in the direction she assumed it had come from, growing unusually hesitant with every step she took. A strange feeling crept over her all of a sudden. She had no idea what it meant and where it had come from, but it somehow made her feel uneasy and unsure whether she really wanted to move any farther ahead and towards her destination._

_But Yuuki shrugged it off and proceeded forwards, deciding that she was just being stupid and unnecessarily paranoid for no reason._

_It was only a few minutes later that she realized how wrong she had been…_

_The brunet girl didn't quite get what it was she was seeing when she just stumbled upon the sight before her, but for some unknown to her reason, she couldn't help the sudden warming of her cheeks at it._

_She felt like an intruder somehow._

_There was a certain intimacy behind the display she was witnessing that just made it seem as though it wasn't for her eyes to see. It was so unexplainably natural, so subtle yet obvious, so inexplicably beautiful…It seemed so right and pure and there was absolutely nothing wrong about it. Yet more and more strongly Yuuki felt like she should stop looking and leave, because her presence was unwanted, intrusive…_

_But she couldn't tear her eyes off the sight in front of her, even though she still didn't understand what exactly was going on there. She looked on, frozen in place and unable to move, her eyes wide with open curiosity and her mind suddenly blank. Yuuki didn't even bother to wonder about the meaning of what she was witnessing, too mesmerized by the sight Zero and Ichiru made._

_After some while, however, the girl began to slowly come to herself. She blinked, then tilted her head slightly to the side, a faint frown coming to her features. Involuntarily, Yuuki took a tentative step forward. Then another one, and then a few more as she peered into the darkness trying to discern what her two adopted brothers were doing._

_But then a muffled groan sounded from Ichiru and Yuuki stopped in her tracks, her heart skipping a beat for reasons she couldn't comprehend. Then Ichiru started lifting his head from Zero's shoulder and Yuuki's pulse raced._

_Before stopping altogether after a few rapid heartbeats. And Yuuki's eyes widened further, but this time in pure horror at what she saw._

_There was blood. Staining the side of Zero's neck and dripping from Ichiru's mouth. And there were fangs. Also stained in blood, and sharp and so…real and scary-looking. And the eyes…Ichiru's eyes weren't of their usual unique lilac color at all. They were bright, burning crimson that shone in the dark frighteningly. The display made Yuuki unable to breathe and paralyzed her with fear for a long moment._

_He was…Ichiru looked just like…_

_A loud gasp fell from the brunet girl's lips and she unconsciously took a few steps backwards in shock._

_Two sets of eyes that were usually absolutely identical in color but now couldn't be more different turned to her sharply, one filled with surprise and another expressing nothing but mocking amusement, as if…_

_Yuuki's eyes widened even more at the realization._

_Could it…Could it be that…Had Ichiru known about her presence there this whole time…?_

_But what was more important than that…How? Why? Since when and…and…_ How _? She had never noticed any signs indicating it. She had always thought that…But it was apparent now that_ _she had been mistaken. Again. But…Really, how on earth did it happen…?_

_Yuuki's head was a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts and questions as her confused mind tried to comprehend what was going on._

_"Yuuki," Zero's voice reached her ears, and the brunet's perplexed gaze snapped to the older twin, immediately locking on the said silver-haired teen's bloodied neck. All the times it had been wrapped in bandages flashed in her mind._

_Yuuki drew in a sharp breath, taking another involuntary step back._

_It couldn't be…All these years…? And she…she hadn't the slightest idea whatsoever…? No wonder Ichiru always called her an oblivious idiot and never stopped making fun of her._

_Zero's pale hand covered the side of his neck and it was only then that Yuuki looked up to meet his unusually nervous gaze._

_"Yuuki…" Zero repeated once more, "This is…um…" the teen faltered and fell quiet for a few seconds. He let out a soft sigh, and a rueful smile made its way on his lips as he resumed speaking, "Why don't you head back home first and get some rest while we finish patrolling? It's late."_

_The brunet girl could only blink stupidly, completely taken aback by the other's words. She stood motionless for some time, unable to do anything but continue to stare blankly in her stupor. Then she gave an absent-minded nod, still evidently dazed, quickly turned on her heels and ran off the same way she had come with one destination in mind._

_But sleep refused to come to her for the longest time that night._

Yuuki felt the involuntary burning of her cheeks again as she relieved the images from last night in her mind. She shook her head lightly in an attempt to get rid of them and curled into herself some more.

She _really_ didn't feel like getting up today.

**-o-**

"Oh, you came out," Ichiru's voice was the first thing that greeted Yuuki when she entered the living room. "And here I thought that you would spend at least a couple of days cooped up in your room hiding," he paused to let a slow smirk come to his lips, "How disappointing." And boring too. Though Ichiru would still manage to extract some fun from the situation.

"S-shut up! I-…I didn't even think of doing that!" Well that wasn't exactly true. The thought _had_ crossed Yuuki's mind more than a few times. But she definitely wasn't going to admit that to Ichiru – he was alreadyannoying enough as it was.

"Sure," Ichiru snorted. "I'll pretend that I bought it," he finished, returning his attention to the show he had been watching before Yuuki entered the room.

The two teens stayed quiet after that. Yuuki remained standing near the doorway for some more time, then proceeded into the room and seated herself on the couch, her posture tense.

Silence lingered, with Yuuki casting her adopted brother half-curious half-anxious glances every so often, sitting in her place awkwardly, and Ichiru remaining unaffected by the girl's attention. It continued for a few minutes, then the silver-haired teen let out a deep sigh and finally shifted his gaze to Yuuki.

"Stop acting all weird and fidgety already, will you?" Ichiru said with mild irritation in his voice. "It's not like I'm going to bite you. _Ever_." He scoffed, finding the very notion ridiculous.

"I-I never thought you would!" Yuuki tried to defend herself, but her expression told an entirely different story than her words. Naturally, Ichiru didn't fail to catch it.

The girl continued, "And I'm _not_ acting weird! Or fidgety! And-" she faltered briefly, a puzzled frown coming to her features, "And why is that anyway?" Yuuki couldn't help bristling slightly, involuntarily offended by the other teen's words and, especially, by his tone. What was it for anyway? And why did Ichiru just _have to_ be so rude and obnoxious about _everything_?

The younger Kiryuu arched an eyebrow. Somehow the action made the brunet girl feel even more like an idiot, but she shook it off.

Ichiru replied leisurely, "Because I have no interest in drinking your blood whatsoever." He gave an indifferent shrug, "The very idea of it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest." Ichiru paused, then gave a faint frown of his own, tilting his head to the side in question, "Why else do you think I never even tried to get it? Surely not because I couldn't." Because he sure as hell _could_ have, had he wanted to. And easily. It was _Yuuki_ after all. The only problem in that would have been Kuran, who would have most likely tried and killed him for even attempting to do something like that to his _'precious Yuuki'_. Though Ichiru had to admit that he _had_ entertained the thought once or twice – just to spite the pureblood. But that idea never stayed with him for long because he _really_ had no desire to go through with the plan. It just wasn't worth the trouble in the end.

"Oh…" Yuuki responded absently.

Ichiru tilted his head sideways once more, blinking. A smirk pulled the corners of his lips up as he spoke again, "Why, you would _like_ to be bitten?"

Brown eyes widened sharply at the question before Yuuki replied, gaping, "W-wha-!? Th-that's-! No! Of course not! That's not what I meant, you idiot!"

"Whatever," Ichiru replied with a snort and a light shrug, then returned his eyes to the television screen once more.

Yuuki pouted slightly before huffing exasperatedly and turning away from the silver-haired teen as well. Her stiff posture started to relax bit by bit and her gaze soon focused on the unknown to her show that Ichiru was watching as well.

Silence filled the room once more and lingered for some time, before the brunet broke it when a thought came to her mind. "Where is Zero?"

"Kitchen," Ichiru replied simply. Yuuki blinked with a puzzled look on her face when the older teen grimaced briefly next before continuing, "He is making us your stupid pancakes and waffles and all the other sickly sweet crap that you love for breakfast." Well, if Yuuki hadn't been well aware of Ichiru's distaste for pretty much all her favorite food – the majority of which consisted of sweets – already, then the silver-haired hunter's current expression alone would have been enough to enlighten her about that fact.

The brunet had to admit though, it did give her a certain satisfaction to see it and she didn't feel bad or guilty about placing it there in the slightest.

Yuuki huffed internally. Served Ichiru right! He always got to choose their meals because Zero just couldn't resist him even over _her_ puppy eyes that _always_ worked! And Ichiru _never_ chose _any_ of her favorite food – if not for his dislike of it, then just to spite her, she knew.

But it looked like today Ichiru's tricks didn't work, judging by the subtle air of sulkiness around the said male. Yuuki smirked mentally, secretly pleased with the knowledge. That was what Ichiru got for always playing dirty and exploiting every bit of Zero's weakness for him.

Ichiru's brow twitched. He could practically hear Yuuki's current thoughts even without the girl saying anything. "Stop looking so smug and don't get your hopes up. It's just a one time thing to comfort your _poor traumatized_ _self_."

"Wha-I'm _not_ traumatized!"

"Yeah, right," Ichiru snorted. "You should have seen your face yesterday."

"I was just surprised…" the brunet girl mumbled quietly to herself, trailing off into silence, fumbling with the hem of her skirt awkwardly.

"Well, tell _Zero_ that." Personally for Ichiru, it had been a hilarious sight and a very entertaining experience. But the same couldn't be said about his twin, who was left slightly perturbed by the event and unnecessarily worried for Yuuki. "Because unlike me, he _is_ concerned by your yesterday's reaction."

While Yuuki was mildly irritated at Ichiru's usual attitude, she couldn't help feeling a small pang of guilt at his words about her favorite adopted brother. She hated worrying him just as much as Ichiru did.

"I will," the brunet said quietly, her head bowing in a meek nod. Then she got up after a few moments and headed for the kitchen, throwing a soft _'_ _I'll go help him'_ on her way out of the room.

"You meant to say you'll go _get in the way_?"

"Shut up, you jerk!" Yuuki returned, sticking out her tongue at Ichiru childishly, and ran off.

The silver-haired hunter gave a derisive snort, "Mature and ladylike as ever." He returned his attention to the television screen and started flipping through channels, having grown bored with the show he had been watching so far.


	12. Black Clouds

 

"My Lord," reached Kuran Rido's ears, unceremoniously disturbing his eighth meal that wonderfully dark, stormy night.

He didn't grace the newcomer's words with any response other than a muffled groan, merely continuing to indulge in the wonderful taste of young human blood. He knew the Level B would get the wordless hint.

Which he did.

"He has left his current residence on the territory of the Cross Academy," the noble vampire resumed speaking. "His destination is unknown as of yet, however it is confirmed that he is not due to return for five nights at least."

 _Oh…How_ _careless of his dear relative_ _now, wasn't it?_ The pureblood chuckled inwardly in amusement. _But oh so fortunate for him…Finally he would have some fun._

"What course of actions would you like me to take next?"

There was no reply for a few minutes as Rido never stopped devouring the slender neck under his lips. Then he freed his fangs, full at long last, and directed his crimson gaze at the sandy-haired noble before him. One pale, long-fingered hand wiped trickles of dark-red liquid from its owner's chin leisurely as the pureblood released his hold on the limp body in his lap and let it hit the cold marble floor lifelessly with a sickening _'thud'_.

"Find out where he is heading and keep an eye on him until further notice. But don't get too close and make sure _no one_ notices you," finally came the verbal response from the brunet male.

"Of course." After giving his master a respectful bow, the noble started to turn and was ready to disappear to begin carrying out his given orders when the pureblood's voice stopped him. He returned his full attention to his lord, awaiting the man's next words quietly.

A slow smirk made its way on Rido's hauntingly handsome face. "Bring me a couple more humans before you leave. I will need some extra energy very soon…" The request was followed by a deep chuckle of dark amusement that sent an involuntary shiver down the noble vampire's spine. But he did a good job of concealing it.

"As you wish, Rido-sama," the light-haired male answered with a bow, not asking any questions as usual. And then he was gone.

Another chuckle escaped the pureblood, his mismatched eyes twinkling with wicked mirth and dark excitement.

_It was time to pay a visit to another relative of his…_

**-o-**

"What's the meaning of this?" Ichiru asked upon spotting a familiar form approach him and his brother, annoyance clear in his voice. It had been quite a while since their last encounter with the man, and Ichiru honestly would have preferred it to remain that way. He could already tell from the other's eyes that nothing good would come out of their little _'reunion'_.

"What do you think?" Takamiya Kaito replied with a question of his own, sounding no less unhappy than Ichiru. "Yagari is on a mission, so I'm replacing him."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Ichiru hissed under his breath.

"I don't like it any more than you do," came the growled response. Then Kaito continued reluctantly, a slight scowl permanent on his face, "So let's start and get it over with. The sooner the better."

Ichiru gave a snort of contempt, "Are you even qualified for that?"

"Well, I sure as hell am more than qualified to kick your vampire ass," the older hunter replied, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his weight to one foot confidently. "Which you're more than welcome to confirm, as I'll _gladly_ do just that." Cold hazel eyes shifted from Ichiru to Zero and back as Kaito added, "So which one of you would like to get whipped first?"

Two silver eyebrows twitched simultaneously. Wordlessly, the younger twin stepped forward, more than ready to fight, but he was stopped by Zero's hand that grabbed his forearm. Ichiru turned to his brother then, impatient question along with mild annoyance written all over his face.

Zero's attention wasn't on him, however, but on Kaito, his gaze fixed on the said man with suspicion and warning swirling in his amethyst eyes as he spoke, "Put away your weapons first, Kaito. You don't need them in hand-to-hand combat."

"And lower my defense in the presence of a leech?" Kaito scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, Zero. No hunter in his right mind would do that."

"Ichiru _is_ a hunter too, whether you like it or not. And he is not going to attack you, so there is no need for any weapon."

"Just because you've _fed_ him beforehand?" The older hunter gave Zero's bandaged neck a pointed look. Zero had to suppress the urge to cover it from the other's eyes. Kaito continued mockingly, "So sorry it doesn't really serve as any kind of reassurance."

"Dammit, Kaito, just-" the older Kiryuu started when his twin stopped him.

"It's alright, Zero-nii," Ichiru spoke calmly, giving his older brother a gentle, reassuring smile, before it disappeared as he turned his attention back to Kaito. "I don't mind. Use whatever petty tricks you have up your sleeve if you're _that_ scared to face me fairly."

The ash brown-haired hunter let out a derisive snort, a mirthless smirk pulling at his lips as he answered, "You and your pathetic provocations…Nothing's changed, has it, Ichiru?" Nevertheless, Kaito removed his hunter gear, and Zero unconsciously let out a barely audible sigh of relief. He still remembered their last training session together, and after that he didn't want to take any chances. That one time was more than enough.

"Who knows," Ichiru shrugged uncaringly in response, "But it looks like they're not so pathetic if they still work."

Kaito's smirk widened imperceptibly, darkening ever so slightly. Now Zero really had a bad feeling about all this.

The older hunter spoke, "Don't get too happy about it. I still can take you out with only one hand if I want to." He paused to shift his gaze to Zero who had already stepped back to get out of the way and observe. Hazel eyes narrowed slightly as Kaito continued, turning his attention back to Ichiru a few seconds later, "And even your softy of a brother won't be able to save you then," he whispered lowly, so that only Ichiru would be able to hear his words with his vampire hearing.

Ichiru's eyes narrowed as well in response, "We'll see about that…"

And the training began. Zero stayed where he was and observed the two males fight for some time, watching Kaito's every move with caution evident in his lavender orbs. Then, more or less reassured that his twin would be alright and that Kaito wasn't going to do anything funny, he proceeded with his own training plan and went to practice his shooting skills first.

He was at it for a while, before deciding that it was time to switch places with Ichiru and going back to where he had left the two hunters. Only to find his twin sitting on the ground leaning against a tree and clutching his obviously wounded shoulder while Kaito stood calmly some distance away, cleaning one of his hunter daggers with a bored expression on his face.

Zero blinked, frowning, _'What the…'_

"Dammit, Kaito!" Zero growled at the ash brown-haired hunter with an angry glare, already rushing to his counterpart's side to assess the damage and asking if Ichiru was alright upon reaching him.

"Before you fully get into your 'protective big bro' mode, let me tell you that I didn't use any weapon in our fight. If you want to blame someone, blame Ichiru and his incurable clumsiness," Kaito said with a shrug, never shifting his attention from the knife in his hands.

Zero's eyes narrowed as he examined the wound. Even without the older hunter's words he could tell it wasn't inflicted by a weapon. It was _worse_.

"I can see that it's not a _weapon_ that you used," the older Kiryuu hissed angrily. "What were you _thinking_?! It's not a freaking battle! It's training, for God's sake! What _the hell_ were you _thinking_ using a freaking _charm_ against _Ichiru_ of all people?!"

Kaito gave another indifferent shrug before replying, "Well, you didn't say anything about hunter spells, did you? Had to use whatever I had. And it _doesn't_ matter whether it's just a training or not." Cold hazel eyes met angry lilac ones and the older male continued, "Have you forgotten what I told you about being serious?"

Zero gritted his teeth, internally cursing himself while he returned his attention to his twin. He couldn't believe Kaito. But even more so he couldn't believe himself for being stupid enough to leave Ichiru alone with the man in spite of _knowing_ that something like this _could_ happen.

"Dammit…!" Zero cursed again under his breath, now feeling his twin's forehead for a fever, just in case. Thankfully though, Ichiru wasn't suffering from one, and Zero let out a quiet sigh of relief at the revelation. It looked like it wasn't as bad as it could have been. And he certainly couldn't be more grateful for that.

"I'm okay, Zero-nii…" Ichiru's voice sounded then, a little weakened, and Zero couldn't help another wave of worry that immediately hit him. Apparently, his counterpart had caught on that, as Ichiru was quick to reassure him with a weak smile, "I really am. Don't worry so much."

"Do you need…?" Zero didn't have to finish the sentence as it was obvious what he wanted to ask when his hand unconsciously went up to his neck.

Kaito's eyes flashed in anger at the display before him. "You've _got_ to be freaking _kidding_ me," he hissed out, stalking towards the silver-haired teens and grabbing the older of the two by his shirt roughly to bring him up to his eye level. "What do you think you're trying to do, Zero?"

Lavender eyes narrowed in an icy glare. "What does it _look_ like?"

"Like a _very_ bad idea," Kaito growled in response. "And it's fucking _disgusting_. You're a damn _hunter_ ,for fuck's sake. What _the hell_ are you doing trying to offer a freaking _bloodsucker_ your throat, and in front of _another_ _hunter_ no less?"

"You can turn away and go wherever you want now for all I care. The training is over. And we're going back." Zero tried to free himself from Kaito's grasp then, but the attempt was unsuccessful, as the older male's hold on his shirt only tightened.

Kaito chose to ignore the older Kiryuu's words and continued in a harsher tone, "I'm asking if you have _completely_ lost your freaking mind. Do you even realize where that blind love of yours for _him_ ," he gave Ichiru a sidelong glance of disdain, missing the responding dark glare from the said silver-haired teen, "will lead you to?"

He didn't get an answer. Only a steady look of calm indifference as Zero stood before him silently.

Cursing grouchily under his breath after a few long moments of their staring contest, Kaito finally released his hold on Zero and stepped back. Almost immediately, the younger teen went back to tending to his twin.

Kaito tsked in irritation and averted his gaze from the two silver-haired teens, already turning to retreat from the scene.

He shouldn't have even tried. He had known from the very beginning that it was pointless to even attempt to talk some sense into that hopeless softy. Yet he had gone and done it anyway. Foolishly.

Really, he shouldn't have even tried…The case was hopeless and thus lost either way.

Kaito halted in his tracks. Without looking at the twins, he spoke again, this time more evenly but no less seriously, "Just mark my words, Zero. In the end, he _will_ be your downfall. We all know it, and _you_ know it as well. You're just the only one who refuses to see and admit it, even to yourself."

Then he continued on his way and soon was gone.

Zero and Ichiru followed the older hunter's retreating back silently with their eyes for a few seconds before averting their attention from the said male.

"Come on, Ichiru," Zero started softly with a small and gentle, but a bit uneasy smile on his lips. Carefully, he helped his twin get up, not missing the slight wince that crossed Ichiru's features. He decided he would have Cross take a look at that wound and the charm that had inflicted it as well. "Let's go home."

**-o-**

"Zero? Ichiru?" Yuuki's confused voice sounded as she stepped into the hallway to see who it was that just came, her gaze flickering between her two adopted brothers' faces. "You're back early. Did something…Wh-what happened to your shoulder, Ichiru?" The brunet girl asked with a surprised gasp upon noticing the weird state the younger twin's shoulder seemed to be in. "Are you-"

"Not now, Yuuki," Zero cut the girl off before she could ask any more questions. "Where is Cross? I need his help. _Now_."

"I-I'm not sure…He said he would be in his office at school all day, but-"

"Bring him over here," Zero said tensely before Yuuki – now genuinely concerned and increasingly nervous – could finish speaking again. The girl had never seen her older adopted brother so distressed. "Tell him to hurry, we will be in our room," the silver-haired teen threw over his shoulder, never stopping for a second as he headed for his mentioned destination.

Yuuki blinked twice after the two, stupefied and still very confused about what just happened. But then she snapped out of her short-lived daze and hurried out of the house to go and find Cross, hoping that the man was indeed in his office working and not slacking off and wandering somewhere else like she often expected him to.

Meanwhile Zero settled Ichiru on their bed and removed his coat and shirt as carefully as he could before helping his counterpart lie down. For the umpteenth time, he felt his younger twin's forehead – purely out of habit and just to be absolutely sure – and, yet again, sighed of relief when he found that Ichiru's body temperature was normal.

"Come on, nii-san…" Ichiru started with a small sigh and a faint, apologetic smile, his gentle gaze resting on his distressed other half adoringly. He took a hold of Zero's hand when it moved from his forehead down to his cheek, brushing a few strands of hair from his eyes along the way, and leaned into the warm touch with another sigh, this one barely audible and of content, his slightly cloudy eyes closing for a long moment. He continued after opening them, the corners of his lips going further up, "I'm telling you, I'm _fine_. The spell Kaito used is nasty, but it's not _that_ strong. The effects will wear off after a few hours." At least so he hoped. It was mere speculation, as Ichiru couldn't tell for sure, but Zero didn't need to know that. All he cared about now was calming down his agitated brother.

Which he seemed to have succeeded in, as Zero's posture relaxed visibly and considerable amount of anxiety disappeared from his eyes.

Ichiru's smile widened again, another soft sigh escaping him involuntarily.

"Okay…" Zero replied with an absent nod after a minute of silent contemplation. "But we will still have Cross examine it. Just in case, okay?"

Ichiru let out a quiet groan of slight annoyance, scowling in obvious displeasure and reluctance at the prospect of having their adoptive father fuss over him, like they both _knew_ he would do, with crocodile tears and the whole arsenal he had up his sleeve.

Nevertheless, the younger teen agreed, however grudgingly, " _Fine_ ," he said with a heavy sigh. Whatever it took only to keep Zero at peace. "But when he becomes too much of an unbearable whiny nuisance," which, again, both of them _knew_ the man _would_ become, and in no time, mind you, "you kick him out of here immediately and close the door on lock."

Zero smiled, chuckling lightly in amusement. "Deal," he replied easily, by now completely relaxed.

But that tranquil moment of peacefulness didn't last long, as the next instant Zero's body went rigid of its own accord and a cold shiver ran down his spine, leaving nothing but unpleasant chilliness in its wake.

Abruptly, the older hunter's head jerked in the direction of the door, his wide amethyst orbs searching for the source of his renewed distress almost desperately.

He knew this feeling. It was impossibly identical to the one he had experienced every once in a while a long, long time ago. But it also was different. It was more sinister and dangerous, more terrifying. It seemed inescapable and nearly made him suffocate of purest and coldest dread.

Zero's heart was beating madly in his chest, threatening to break through his ribcage at any moment as its owner turned to face the one who was causing such reaction, apprehensive as he was. Instinctively, his hand reached for his gun that the older Kiryuu still had on himself, having failed to undress yet, and he was ready to point it at whoever it was that stood in the doorway when all of a sudden, everything stopped.

That frightening feeling disappeared. Completely. Without a trace. And Zero had to wonder if he had even actually felt it in the first place.

The atmosphere seemed to have cleared somewhat and he could breathe freely again. His pulse evened after a few seconds and he was… _free_ all of a sudden. Of what though, he had no idea.

Zero blinked once, then twice, coming out of the daze he didn't know he had gotten immersed in at some point in time. His lavender eyes cleared and his fingers let go of his hunter weapon unconsciously. And it was only then that he recognized the familiar figure standing beside the door.

Zero blinked again, surprised. "Shiki-sempai…?" he uttered the name quietly, unsure of what had just happened. A small frown of mild confusion made its way on his features as Zero continued watching the one before him numbly. What in the world…

But he was sure he had- or was it all just an illusion…? It couldn't have been Shiki Senri who had been the source of that ominous feeling. It was impossible. Zero must have just imagined all that. There couldn't be any other explanation. But still…

"What are you doing here?" Zero asked the noble vampire then, his frown deepening a bit in question and head tilting slightly to the side.

For some reason, he thought there was something amiss, something wrong…He couldn't really explain it, but he couldn't shake off the feeling either. There was just _something_ about the noble…

"Twins," came in a familiar yet strangely foreign voice of Shiki. Zero couldn't help the uneasiness he felt at hearing it. The maroon-haired vampire continued in the same manner, " _Hunter_ twins…" he mumbled more quietly to no one in particular as his gaze kept slowly darting from Zero to Ichiru and back with interest.

It felt as though it was the first time the noble ever laid his eyes on them.

And it gave Zero the creeps for some reason. The vampire's gaze did.

"Zero-nii?" Ichiru's voice sounded with undertones of confusion in it. Observant as ever, Ichiru didn't fail to notice the change in his older twin's demeanor, and he didn't feel too good about it. "What's wrong?" he asked with a worried frown creasing his forehead and took his twin's hand that had left his cheek a few long seconds before. He gave it a light squeeze in an attempt to soothe his counterpart, which seemed to have worked as Zero's impossibly tense form relaxed visibly after a short while.

The older twin turned his gaze to his counterpart then, his expression softening immediately upon the sight of growing distress on Ichiru's face. "Nothing," Zero replied to his other half softly with a faint smile. "It's nothing, Ichiru. I just…" his gaze flickered to the noble vampire in the doorway for a briefest of moments involuntarily, "It was just my imagination." Zero forced his smile to widen a bit in silent reassurance. He tried to sound and look as plausible as he only could in spite of the fact that he himself didn't quite believe in his words.

Unfortunately for Zero though, Ichiru knew him way too well not to see through his feeble attempt at covering up his quiet distress. But the younger teen chose not to point that fact out right now and left it for later when they would have some privacy.

"If you say so…"

Zero only gave another small smile in response, this one more genuine and of gratitude.

His features hardened again, however, when he returned his attention to the vampire that was still watching him and his brother interact. Zero didn't like the look the noble gave them any more than he did the last time. He stood up, instinctively shifting to shield his twin from view as much as he could, and asked, "Is there something you wanted, Shiki-sempai?"

His inquiry was met with silence that lingered for a few long moments as the maroon-haired vampire continued staring at him contemplatively, his gaze unwavering and expression unreadable.

Needless to say, it did nothing to lessen Zero's uneasiness but only made it increase. And he still had no idea why on earth he was feeling that way.

"No…" Shiki spoke at long last, somewhat absent-mindedly. He paused for a long moment, during which he seemed to have come out of his daze as his icy eyes cleared. But then an uncharacteristic smirk pulled the corners of his lips up slowly. Zero frowned, puzzled and, strangely, slightly alarmed for reasons he couldn't even begin to guess.

The noble continued, "I merely came to see what the commotion was about. That is all."

"Oh…And…you're not in your dormitory because…?"

"I got bored there, so I came to visit our favorite prefects." Shiki tilted his head slightly to the side, his smirk widening a bit. He positively looked creepy to Zero now. "Why, am I not allowed to?"

Zero faltered in his reply and thus missed the chance to give it as the next second another voice sounded, distracting the two from their conversation, to the older Kiryuu's secret relief. Who could have thought that Cross could actually choose the right timing to appear for once in his entire life? "Zero-kun? I came as soon as I could, what is-" the ex-hunter started, his voice unusually serious and saturated with worry, but he faltered upon seeing an unexpected guest in his house. "Oh, Shiki-kun, what a nice surprise," Cross greeted the noble with a warm smile, "Is everything alright? Do you need something?"

"He just came because he had nothing to do," Zero answered promptly before Shiki could, already dragging Cross towards the bed to take a look at his twin. "Leave the small talk for later and concentrate on the task at hand now, will you?"

The blond male easily agreed and, giving a silent nod, proceeded to check Ichiru's wound.

"Zero?" Yuuki called next with concern still fresh in her tone, only now making her appearance, flushed and panting. "I-is Ichiru okay? Tell me what happened!"

"Later, Yuuki, okay?" Zero asked with an apologetic smile. "Just tend to Shiki-sempai for now while we take care of Ichiru here." He gave the noble vampire another brief glance of uneasiness, still not quite out of his sudden state of wariness towards the said male. But he didn't get any disturbing feeling from him this time around – all his hunter senses could pick up on was only Shiki's usual aura of a Level B vampire. Nothing weird about it.

Once again, Zero had to wonder if he had indeed been imagining things.

"Okay…" Yuuki agreed with a hesitant nod, casting the twins one last worried glance before urging Shiki back into the living room, "Let's go, Shiki-sempai..."

The noble gave an absent-minded hum in response and followed the girl unhurriedly, but his gaze still lingered on Zero for a few seconds. In turn, the silver-haired teen watched the vampire go intently with uncertain suspicion still darkening his lavender orbs slightly.

Zero let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the two retreating figures disappeared from his sight. He took another moment to collect himself, and then turned his attention back to his twin and stepped into their shared room again, closing the door softly after himself.

**-o-**

"Shiki," Ichijou Takuma perked up upon spotting his friend enter the lounge room of the Moon Dormitory where he was lazing about reading one of his mangas. "Where did you disappear off to? I've been looking for you."

"…I think I was at Chairman Cross's house," Shiki replied in his usual flat toneless voice, seating himself on the couch opposite from the blond noble.

Ichijou arched his brows in bewilderment, for a few seconds unable to do anything but blink stupidly as he stared at Shiki, wide-eyed. "What do you mean you _think_?" he asked then, tilting his head slightly to the side in question.

He only received a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders in response as Shiki already averted his attention to a box of pocky he had retrieved from his pocket.

The blond vampire chose not to press further and asked another question instead, "But what were you even doing there in the first place?"

"Don't know…" Another shrug. "I just ended up there…somehow…"

"'Somehow'…?" Ichijou repeated, incredulous.

"Mm," the younger vampire nodded, now munching on his pocky.

"But surely you couldn't have stayed in _that_ house up until _now_ , right?" Aidou Hanabusa joined in the conversation then upon emerging from the dorm's library with a massive pile of books in his arms, his turquoise eyes wide with bewilderment clear in them.

Shiki blinked, tilting his head to the side. "Why? It wasn't bad there."

Aidou gave the other a look of surprise, before it turned into one of understanding as realization dawned on him and he replied, "Oh. I see." He gave a nod of approval to whatever thought crossed his brilliant mind. "I guess with no Kiryuus around…"

"They were there. Both of them," Shiki shot back calmly, finishing off his first pocky and starting onto the second one. "The older one made tea and we ate fruit cake. It was good."

"Huh?!" Aidou exclaimed in exasperation, setting his books on a coffee table loudly. "What the hell!? What cake?! Is your loyalty _that_ cheap?!"

Ichijou blinked, repeating with a small smile, "Loyalty…? I think you're exaggerating a bit, Aidou-kun…"

"I'm not! He is fraternizing with the enemy!" the younger blond protested hotly.

Ichijou let out a light laugh. "Now that's another exaggeration. They're nice kids, not enemies..."

"And that cake was delicious too…" Shiki added absent-mindedly before mumbling under his nose to no one in particular, "I should have asked for another slice."

"What?!" Aidou nearly exploded, but was promptly ignored by both vampires.

"You can do that when you visit them next time," Ichijou suggested enthusiastically, his smile brightening to impossible levels. "And I can even go with you!"

" _What_!?" Aidou screeched once more, his voice rising dramatically in exasperation. But he was ignored this time around as well as Ichijou continued happily.

"Kaname always praises Zero-kun's cooking, but he is the only one out of all of us who ever gets to have it. It's totally unfair, don't you think?" the older blond asked, a light childish pout replacing his beaming smile briefly.

"Mm," Shiki nodded distractedly while moving on to his next pocky.

"How about we go tomorrow?" Ichijou made another suggestion, perking up even more. "I don't suppose they would be too busy. Still weekend and all." He nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with his own idea.

"Mm," came another monotonous reply from Shiki while Aidou continued gaping at the two in astonishment.

"Wh-wha-what-!?" the younger blond sputtered before he managed to compose himself. "What _in the world_ are you _talking_ about, Ichijou!? You _can't_ be serious about going there!"

"Why not?" Takuma asked, blinking innocently in genuine confusion. But then his expression changed to one of understanding and he resumed speaking, "Oh, I see…" Aidou nodded in silent encouragement a few times, happy to see that he seemed to have managed to get his point across to at least one of the two idiots before him. A small smile of satisfaction already started making its way on his face, but it was stopped by Ichijou's next words. "Don't worry, Aidou-kun, you can come with us too," the older blond said with his trademark sunshine smile, all annoyingly cheerful again. "I'm sure no one will mind, and besides, the more the merrier, as they say!" He turned to the silent maroon-haired noble then and asked, "Right, Shiki?"

"Mm," Shiki responded with a small nod in the same manner as all the previous times, having long stopped really paying attention to the conversation.

Takuma brightened up even more then in spite of the total lack of reaction that Shiki expressed and continued enthusiastically, "That's right! We should also call Kain-kun to come with us!" He returned his attention to the younger blond vampire and, somehow managing to stay completely oblivious to the said male's clearly annoyed and slightly horrified expression, asked with expectant face, "What do you think about it, Aidou-kun?"

If it was possible, that frighteningly happy smile got even wider, and that was when poor Aidou reached his limit.

"Argh! Like I can take it!" he exclaimed exasperatedly, then grabbed his books and stomped out of the room angrily.

"Aidou-kun?" Takuma called, blinking innocently in confusion as he followed the other with his gaze, but the younger blond didn't respond.

In less than a second Aidou was gone, and Takuma could only shrug as he returned to reading his manga, still as excited about the following evening as ever.

**-o-**

"Nii-san?"

A soft hum came from Zero in response to his twin's quiet call of him. He kept his eyes closed as they lay in their bed, ready to go to sleep.

"What was it that got you so distressed earlier?" Ichiru continued softly, then added when Zero failed to react in any way to his inquiry, "Tell me." He shifted closer to his counterpart, unconsciously taking a hold of Zero's hand.

The older teen let out a long sigh in surrender. Then he opened his eyes, giving Ichiru his full attention. His lips curved into a faint, rueful smile when, after a few seconds, he got used to darkness and was able to discern his twin's troubled expression.

"It really was nothing, Ichiru. Stop worrying yourself over it."

"It wasn't _'nothing'_ ," Ichiru disagreed, frowning, "I saw your reaction back then. And you know as well as I do that I know you too well to let you off the hook so easily."

Another sigh came from Zero before he gave a small nod in response, "I know. But…"

"But…?"

"I honestly have no idea what came over me. It's just…" the older teen lowered his gaze in contemplation, continuing only after a few long moments of silence, during which he tried to find the words to describe what had happened, "My senses went haywire all of a sudden for no reason. It stopped right away, but…I just couldn't shake it off."

"Haywire…?" Ichiru repeated, a small frown marring his features. "Because of Shiki-sempai?"

"I…" Zero paused, taking another few moments of contemplative silence before answering, "I don't know," he shook his head lightly, his brows drawing together in a puzzled frown. Zero pondered over the matter for another short while before his features cleared of bewilderment and he returned his gaze to Ichiru. With a soft smile, he continued, "See? I told you it was nothing. Just my imagination, I guess."

Ichiru had serious doubts about that conclusion. He knew all too well that his brother's hunter senses were _never_ mistaken. But still…

"…If you say so…" Ichiru chose not to voice his thoughts, deciding that it would be better to leave the subject for now, if only to put Zero's mind at rest. And so, without another word, he simply moved closer to his counterpart and hugged him, their foreheads touching ever so slightly. His eyes slid shut the next second and he let out a quiet sigh of content, already making himself comfortable against his twin's form.

A small, indulgent smile made its way on Zero's features at his other half's endearing actions. With a soft chuckle, he returned the embrace and also settled for sleep, mentally thanking Ichiru for his silent comfort.


	13. Creeping Shadows

 

"What is the meaning of this?" Kaname asked after standing silently in the doorway of Cross's living room for one long minute, dumbfounded and blinking stupidly in an incredibly uncharacteristic of him manner.

"Oh, Kaname!" came Takuma's ever-cheerful voice as the blond shot his way a blindingly bright smile. "Welcome back. But wait," the noble paused momentarily to tilt his head slightly to the side in question, "weren't you supposed to return only tomorrow evening?"

"I was. But everything went more smoothly than expected," Kaname replied simply and left it at that without further explanation, returning to his previous inquiry instead, "Now tell me, _Ichijou_ …" Though still smiling as widely as ever, Takuma gulped quietly of involuntary nervousness as his friend's garnet eyes narrowed and looked over the group currently occupying the room sternly. Now why didn't he feel too good about that tone and that gaze of his pureblood leader…? " _What_ is the meaning of _this_?"

Takuma let out a weak, sheepish laugh, his smile turning visibly nervous. "Um, what do you mean by 'this', I wonder…?"

Kaname's eyes narrowed further, his expression darkening ever so slightly with mild annoyance. "Ichijou…"

The noble gave another small, nervous laugh, internally sweatdropping. Then he finally answered, "Oh, well, you see…Shiki accidentally came here a few days ago…"

" _'Accidentally'_ …?" the pureblood frowned, his gaze flickering to Shiki who was currently busy eating cake before returning to Takuma with question clear in his burgundy orbs.

"Ah well, that doesn't really matter. I didn't get that part either." One dark eyebrow rose elegantly at the words, but Ichijou ignored it, continuing, "Anyway. He liked it here so much that we all decided to visit our favorite prefects as well! Right?" Takuma turned to the other three nobles for confirmation of his words, receiving two silent nods from Kain and Shiki in response. In Aidou's case, however, it didn't go as smoothly – unsurprisingly.

"What do you mean by ' _we_ decided', Ichijou?!" Aidou spoke up indignantly. " _You_ were the one who _dragged_ us all here!"

Takuma chose not to look in Kaname's direction at that moment. He could feel the dark look the pureblood was giving him with his skin, and while it _was_ kind of amusing to some extent, he couldn't deny the fact that it also was scary. Very much so.

The older blond laughed nervously again before answering, still smiling brightly while diligently avoiding eye contact with Kaname. "What are you talking about, Aidou-kun? That was last time! Didn't you come here of your own free will today?"

"Wha-!? No! Definitely not!" Aidou protested vehemently, but his efforts went completely to waste due to the slight but noticeable reddening of his cheeks.

"Eh? But didn't you praise Zero-kun's cake and-"

"'Last time'…?" Kaname interrupted his childhood friend, frowning.

"Oh, yeah, last time," Takuma nodded happily. Then he added, "Which was last Sunday."

Kaname's brow twitched. So it wasn't the first time they came to Cross's house? What _else_ in the world had happened while he was absent, he wondered?

"I see…" the brunet answered calmly while his expression darkened further and voice got even colder. Now all four noble vampires felt slightly uncomfortable under their leader's steady gaze. "Pray tell then, _Ichijou_ … _Why_ are the four of you here _now_ , on Friday night? If I am not mistaken…" Which he wasn't for sure – he _never_ was. "I do believe you have classes to attend…"

Another sheepish laugh, this time with nervousness more noticeable in it. Even Takuma's wide smile started to lose some of its endless cheerfulness bit by bit under Kaname's mercilessly stern eyes. "Oh, well…You see," the older blond started, miraculously managing to keep uneasiness out of his voice, " _Yuuki-chan_ and Chairman Cross invited us for dinner, and no one seemed to mind, so here we are. After all, it's not like missing one night of classes would bring about some significant effect on our school lives or something…right?"

Oh they had _no_ idea…

Internally, Kaname smirked evilly to himself, already planning punishments for each of the four noble vampires before him.

"Kaname-sama?" sounded a familiar voice then, distracting the pureblood's attention to its owner. Immediately, a gentle smile came to Kaname's lips as his eyes landed on the petite brunet girl that just entered the room, a tray with several cups of tea in her hands. "Welcome back! When did you return?"

"Good evening, Yuuki, and thank you," Kaname replied politely with a small bow of his head in greeting. "I came back just now. I hope my sudden visit isn't much of a bother?"

"O-of course not!" Yuuki shook her head furiously, already flustered and with a bright blush settled firmly on her cheeks. It was a good thing that she had already put down the tray she had been carrying, otherwise it would have definitely slipped from her fingers due to her involuntary nervousness. Internally, the girl cursed herself for always reacting that way to her crush. Then, still stammering slightly, she offered, "P-please take a seat and make yourself comfortable, Kaname-sama! I'll bring you a cup of tea right away!"

Smiling widely, Yuuki was about to turn around and go about her self-appointed task, but the pureblood's smooth voice stopped her in her tracks at that moment, "There is no need, Yuuki, please don't bother yourself. Just sit down and enjoy your drink while I go greet Zero-kun and Ichiru-kun. I am sure they will be polite enough to offer me a cup as well." Kaname's gentle tone and sweet smile never faltered one bit when he said that, but Yuuki still couldn't help the disappointment she immediately felt upon receiving that answer.

Nonetheless, she did her best to hide it and only answered with another smile, although this one noticeably weaker and less happy, "Oh, okay," the girl nodded gently. "Sure…" she added absently, unknowingly following the brunet vampire with her eyes as he passed her and headed for the kitchen.

For a few more seconds, the girl continued staring after the pureblood before turning away and taking a seat on one of the couches next to Kain, a quiet sigh falling from her lips. She never noticed a small sympathetic smile sent her way by Ichijou, nor the curious eyebrow arched at her by Shiki who uncharacteristically had a barely visible smirk on his face.

**-o-**

"Don't lie to me, nii-san." Ichiru's voice, unusually stern and with subtle undertones of worry in it, stopped Kaname in his tracks before he could fully reach his destination. Surprised, for some while the pureblood was unable to do anything but stay uncertainly in his place, his legs refusing to move for unknown to him reasons. Meanwhile, the younger Kiryuu continued, "You _know_ you can't hide it from me. I can _see_ that something is wrong. It's _that_ feeling again, isn't it?"

At Ichiru's words, along with the tone they were spoken in, a deep frown made its way on Kaname's features. And when Zero's voice reached him next, it only got more prominent as concern was now added to confusion the brunet felt.

"Ichiru…" Zero started with a heavy sigh, sounding somewhat tired. Kaname could easily discern a small, fond smile he sent his twin's way in that familiar voice that the pureblood only now realized he had missed this whole time he hadn't been able to hear it. A part of him immediately felt some kind of tender peacefulness settle in his being, while another part couldn't help the slight agitation it unconsciously felt at the barely there hints of uneasiness Kaname had managed to pick up on from that one word that was the name of the younger Kiryuu.

All of a sudden, there was an uncomfortable tightening in the brunet vampire's chest. It passed after mere seconds, but it left an unpleasant sensation in its wake. And, needless to say, Kaname didn't feel good about it at all.

"It's _alright_ ," Zero continued softly. "I told you it's-"

"It is _not_ nothing, nii-san," Ichiru nearly hissed, interrupting his twin and surprising Kaname further to an extent where the pureblood couldn't help starting slightly. He had never heard Ichiru so…agitated. Quite frankly, he didn't even think that the younger boy was actually _capable_ of such an emotion. After all, he never let _anything_ get to him. "And it sure as hell is _not_ your imagination. It may have been the case once, I'll give you that, but _thrice_? We both know that it means something. And while you might not believe it, your hunter senses are _never_ wrong."

To the last part, Kaname gave a mental nod. Ichiru was right about Zero's senses. They were extraordinary without a doubt, even if their owner himself didn't quite realize it.

Another sigh sounded before Zero replied after a short while of silence between the twins. "Maybe you're right…But-" Whatever it was that the older hunter was going to say didn't make it past his lips, as his attention was drawn away from his other half by a slight movement in the corner of his vision. "Kaname…?"

The pureblood blinked. Somehow he failed to notice how he had gotten to his current place in the kitchen's doorway, apparently brought there by his legs that had, at some point in time, moved of their own accord without his knowledge. It was only now that he came out of his mild daze, and the first thing he was met with was a pair of startled, familiar lavender orbs that were looking at him with understandable surprise, but not-so-understandable relief. And while he didn't really mind the latter, he also didn't feel too good about it.

Once again, a small frown came to the brunet's features as, for the umpteenth time, he wondered what exactly was going on.

"Great," Ichiru said in an unsurprisingly annoyed tone after tsking in obvious displeasure at both being interrupted and seeing Kaname – though there was no doubt in the pureblood's mind that it was mostly the latter that irritated the younger boy so – before continuing, "Now _you_ decided to show up, huh?"

A quiet sigh came from Kaname at the 'warm greeting' offered to him by the younger twin. But other than that, he didn't react to it in any way, too used to receiving that kind of attitude from Ichiru by now. Thus, as per usual, Kaname chose to concentrate on Zero instead, and was more than happy to do so.

"Is there something the matter?"

The pureblood didn't receive a reply to his inquiry at first as, for a few seconds, Zero remained silent, only looking at him uncertainly with a weak, somewhat uneasy smile on his lips. Kaname's frown deepened at that, but he chose not to say anything and waited for the younger teen's response patiently.

"No…" came from Zero at long last, accompanied by a slight widening of his smile. "No, it's nothing, Kaname. Don't-"

"Actually," Ichiru sounded then, interrupting his counterpart. His attention was fully on the brunet vampire now, lavender eyes darkened and narrowed in cold contempt as he spoke, "There _is_ something, Kuran."

"Ichiru," Zero called in a warning tone, but was ignored by his younger brother altogether – unusually.

Ichiru continued, "You bloodsuckers make nii-san sick with your presence. And I don't mean it figuratively. Take your little group of lackeys and leave. _Now_."

Kaname blinked, his eyes widening in surprise and confusion at the younger Kiryuu's words that, quite frankly, left him speechless. It wasn't the tone Ichiru had used nor the attitude he was showing towards him, as those weren't anything new to the pureblood, but _what_ the teen had said.

"Ichiru, don't. Kaname has nothing to-"

"But I _am_ right, aren't I, nii-san?" Ichiru interrupted Zero once more, not letting him finish. When no response came from his counterpart, the younger teen continued, now speaking to Kaname, "What the hell are you still standing there for, Kuran? You heard me."

"Um, I don't quite…understand…" Kaname started uncertainly, his frown still firmly in place. He turned his questioning gaze to the older twin then, asking softly, "Zero-kun?"

Again, he was met with that uncharacteristic, disturbing uneasiness when his eyes locked with Zero's lavender ones. Another wan smile was sent his way before Zero turned his attention to Ichiru and called his name gently, easily attracting the younger teen's attention. Neither of the two spoke, but whatever it was that Zero wanted to ask of his twin, Ichiru understood. Just like he always did…

Kaname resisted the ridiculous urge to avert his gaze from the two. He was being utterly foolish _again_.

A frustrated sigh reached the pureblood's ears, bringing him back from his momentary daze.

"Fine," came from a more than clearly disgruntled Ichiru then as the said teen turned to the kitchen table and picked up a tray similar to the one Kaname had spotted Yuuki with earlier. The only difference was that this one had plates with neatly cut slices of cake on it. "Whatever," Ichiru added grumpily and left without sparing either of the two males a single glance.

Kaname followed the younger twin with his gaze for a few short seconds before turning back to Zero when a quiet sigh sounded from the said teen. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Kaname gave the silver-haired hunter another inquiring look, in response to which he only received a somewhat rueful smile and a silent shake of the head.

Then Zero offered simply, "Tea?" And, having received a nod from the pureblood, went about the task of preparing the drink while Kaname fully entered the room and automatically took a seat at the table. A minute later a cup of fragrant caramel tea, followed by a plate with a piece of delicious-looking cake on it, was placed before him, and a small smile pulled the corners of the brunet vampire's lips up.

It was only now that Kaname realized how much he missed being in this house. Even though it had been but a mere week since his last visit.

A quiet chuckle sounded from above him, and Kaname blinked, looking up, a bit startled. A warm smile and a pair of familiar, mildly amused lavender eyes was what he was met with and, involuntarily, his breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. Unable to speak for reasons he wasn't quite aware of, the pureblood could only stare at the silver-haired youth in front of him stupidly.

"You must have really missed that _'favorite drink'_ of yours to be _this_ happy at mere sight of it," Zero said, letting out another small chuckle before tilting his head to the side and asking with even more amusement in his tone than previously, "Or is it the cake?" Never in his life would Zero have pegged the pureblood as a sweet tooth. And he was pretty sure that no other person that knew Kaname would ever do so either.

So was it any wonder that he was so amused by the aforementioned vampire's unexpected yet endearingly genuine reaction?

"Oh, um…" Kaname tried to start, but faltered. It took him a few more seconds to pull his impossibly foolish – as the pureblood currently deemed himself to be – self together. "Yeah…You could say so…I guess…" Kaname replied a bit uncertainly, lowering his gaze briefly. Then he continued, this time with more confidence and with a charming smile tugging at his lips, "After all, _everything_ you cook is absolutely delicious, Zero-kun."

One silver eyebrow rose at that. Then another amused chuckled came from the young hunter and, taking a seat behind the table with a cup of caramel tea of his own as well, Zero replied, shaking his head gently, "You and your shameless sweet-talking again."

"Why, but I am telling the truth," Kaname answered with an innocent look on his face, his smile never fading. Which did nothing to convince Zero, even though he had no doubt that the pureblood _was_ being honest.

"Sure you are," the younger male replied with a small snort of amusement before turning his attention to his tea and taking a sip from the cup.

Kaname didn't offer an answer to that and only continued smiling, quietly enjoying every moment of Zero's company. He missed that too. This somewhat calming, pleasant interaction…

Companionable silence that continued for some time settled over the room as the two drank their tea contently. It was only when Kaname tried a spoonful of his cake that Zero decided to break it with a question, "How is it?"

He received a soft smile when the brunet vampire returned his gaze to him once more. Then the actual reply came, accompanied by a small nod, "As expected of you, it's delicious, Zero-kun."

A quiet sigh of relief escaped the silver-haired teen without his knowledge and the corners of his lips went slightly up as well. Then, with a satisfied nod, Zero returned to his drink.

The two lapsed into comfortable silence once more. With his soft smile still in place, Kaname continued watching the young hunter before him. But all too soon Ichiru's words from earlier flashed across his mind, and contentment immediately disappeared from his features, now replaced by concern.

Slowly, the brunet vampire put his cup with tea down. Then, after a few more seconds of uncharacteristic of him hesitation, he spoke, "Zero-kun…About what Ichiru-kun said…"

Involuntarily, Zero froze. Kaname didn't fail to notice it and a worried frown returned to his features, but he continued nonetheless, "What exactly was he talking about?"

Zero didn't reply, his own smile long gone and replaced by uneasiness once more. For some while, he remained silent, simply staring at the cup in his hands contemplatively. Kaname gave him the time he needed, waiting patiently, even though internally, he couldn't help the anxiety that grew within him with every passing second.

Then, at long last, Zero answered with a question of his own, albeit a bit uncertainly, only now meeting the pureblood's gaze, "Kaname, are you…um…" There was a pause as, not for the first time when their current topic of conversation was concerned, the older Kiryuu twin struggled to find the right words. "Have you… _sensed_ anything out of the ordinary…today…?"

Kaname blinked, his eyes widening a bit in confusion. His frown turned to one of puzzlement and, tilting his head slightly to the side, he asked, "'Out of the ordinary'…?" He repeated, mentally going through his memories of this day and coming up with nothing abnormal. Well, safe for the uncalled presence of some of the members of his inner circle, but Kaname doubted that Zero was talking about that. "…I don't believe so…"

Disappointment was evident in the silver-haired teen's features at his received reply. His shoulders sagged a bit and he turned away, a barely audible _'Oh…'_ escaping him. Lavender eyes turned contemplative once more and a thoughtful frown creased Zero's forehead.

The hunter didn't say anything else and silence took over again, only this time it was heavy and it ignited deep anxiety in Kaname's being. And as the brunet continued sitting in his place watching the younger teen before him, that unpleasant, sickeningly overwhelming feeling only increased in its intensity.

And he hated it. Just as he hated the fact that he was helpless against it. But even more than that, more than anything, Kaname hated that expression Zero currently had on his face.

He had seen many different emotions make their appearance on those familiar, beautiful features, but never in his life had he seen the boy look so… _unbearably_ _lost_ …so impossibly stressed and worn out all of a sudden. And the sight made his chest tighten painfully.

 _What_ in the world _was_ going on…?

"I must be going crazy…" came from Zero in a barely audible voice. One of his hands went up and ran through his hair somewhat shakily and a mirthless chuckle fell from his lips that were pulled into a bitter smile.

Kaname's eyes widened a fraction in bewildered worry. "Zero-kun...?" What did he mean by those words?

He didn't get any reaction from the younger teen even after a while of waiting. Zero just sat motionlessly staring into space unblinkingly with troubled look on his face, and by now Kaname was slowly but surely starting to quietly panic.

"Zero-kun," the pureblood called once again, more urgently this time. He was out of his seat and by Zero's side before he knew it, already dropping down on one knee. He touched Zero's unusually cold hand, hesitant at first, then took it in his, gently yet firmly, and tried to get the younger teen's attention once more, "Zero-kun, what is it? What is the matter?" At long last, amethyst eyes met his garnet ones and Kaname breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. Unconsciously, he gave the pale hand in his a light squeeze and, with a pleading look on his face, asked, "Tell me, Zero-kun."

It was only after another short while of evident hesitation that Zero found it in himself to answer. But even before he had the chance to start speaking, a familiar voice sounded, interrupting the two and bringing their attention to the doorway.

"Zero, Aidou-sempai and Shiki-sempai ask for seconds. Do we have any mo-" Yuuki stopped both in her tracks and speech upon entering the room, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight in front of them. Unable to utter a single word, the girl continued standing motionlessly where she was, staring at the two other occupants of the room unblinkingly. In her head, Yuuki tried to comprehend what exactly it was that she was seeing. But she failed to do so, as her mind went blank and the only thing she was currently aware of was her suddenly racing for reasons she didn't know heartbeat. Along with it came the slightly familiar tightening in her chest, and the brunet girl had to resist the urge to clutch at the area where that uncomfortable feeling was residing.

It was only after a few long seconds of strained silence that Yuuki could speak again.

"Um…Is something the matter?" She started uncertainly, sounding a bit weird even to her own ears. With all her might, she mentally prayed that it would go unnoticed as she continued, "Am I…Am I interrupting…?" Deep inside, she already knew the answer to her own question without either of the two males saying anything. She got such a feeling somehow, upon entering the room, and it was still there with her and refused to leave.

But she chose to ignore it along with what was in front of her very eyes. It wasn't the first time she did so, after all. And she was actually getting pretty good at it. Ignoring certain things and pretending to be oblivious to them, as well as believing in her wishful thinking, that is.

"No," came Zero's quiet voice. A weak smile made its way on his lips and he got up slowly, tiredly, but Kaname was the only one who noticed it. He got up as well while Zero continued, "Of course not. We were just talking."

"Zero-kun-" Kaname started when the silver-haired teen moved to leave. He still hadn't gotten his answer and he _wanted_ to know what was wrong with Zero, what it was that made him so disturbingly agitated.

He didn't receive any verbal response. Only a soft, grateful, albeit still noticeably uncertain and tired smile coupled with a subtly imploring look that asked him to _just let it go_.

Which Kaname did. Reluctantly and with great difficulty, unable to deny Zero his wish.

But only for now. For he would _still_ get to the truth the next time around.

"Alright," the pureblood said in a near whisper and gave a slight nod. He released the hunter's arm that he only now realized he had grabbed at some point, and Zero's smile widened in gratitude as well as relief.

Yuuki frowned at the silent exchange between the two. Curious, she was about to ask what it was about, when her adopted brother's voice sounded again, calling her name.

"Y-yes?" Yuuki responded, stuttering slightly from surprise.

"Can I leave the rest to you and Ichiru?" Zero asked with an apologetic smile. "I'm a bit tired and want to retire earlier today."

"Oh…" the brunet girl blinked, taken aback for a moment, before returning to her cheerful self and replying happily, "Sure," she said with an enthusiastic nod, "leave everything to me!"

She received an amused smile and a small nod of gratitude. Then Zero returned his attention to Kaname and graced him with a smile as well, before saying his good night and leaving the room, oblivious to the pair of worried burgundy eyes that never left his form.

**-o-**

It was sometime by early morning that he woke up. He found himself in his younger twin's arms, pleasantly confined in familiar, soothing warmth that was silently comforting and protecting him from the world outside of Ichiru's gentle embrace. For the first few long, blurry seconds, he was perfectly content with his instinctive idea of going back to sleep, but a certain persistent feeling – one that wasn't new to him somehow – in the back of his mind stopped him from doing so.

Disoriented and not quite conscious of what he was doing, Zero got up and left their shared bed and soon their room as quietly as he could. Then he left the house, still in a slight daze, and before he knew it, the silver-haired teen was at another sanctuary of his – the stables.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Zero said with a soft smile to his dear friend Lily who had been asleep until but a moment ago. He received a small snort in response before the white mare took a few steps forward and leaned over the fence to nudge him playfully in the chest. Zero's smile widened and he responded to the affectionate gesture without hesitation, his hands automatically moving up to pet his friend's massive head. After which, as per their usual greeting ritual, Lily quickly went for his silver hair that she loved to chew on so much. Why though, neither Zero nor anyone else knew. And the fact that Lily never tried to do the same with Ichiru's perfectly identical – save for the length – to Zero's hair didn't help with solving that mystery in any way whatsoever.

But it certainly never failed to amuse her young master, and succeeded in evoking a soft chuckle from him this time around as well.

However, indulgent smile that Zero was currently wearing on his face didn't stay there for long as the next moment his hunter senses flared to life and he went still and impossibly rigid.

It was that unpleasant, vicious feeling that the silver-haired teen knew all too well by now. It came back. _Again_. Like it had been doing over and over again this entire week, as though taunting him. It was that that had been interfering with his sleep and causing his distress. It was that that made him feel unsafe in his own home and quietly tampered with his sanity…

And its source was creeping closer with every passing second.

The realization of it filled Zero with sudden panic that he could neither control nor get rid of. His pulse raced involuntarily, chest tightened. And as though he wasn't freaked out enough _already_ , next came another highly alarming realization. It was realization of the fact that he had been careless enough to actually _leave_ his only potential insurance – his gun, the Bloody Rose – behind in his room.

Internally, Zero cursed himself to hell and back for his own stupidity.

And it had crept even closer…

It felt like a shadow. A cold, dark, all-consuming deathly shadow that came to life and was extending its razor-sharp, hungry claws towards him. It practically _screamed_ of its overflowing darkness and sane madness, of bloodlust and violent intentions…

In all honesty, _how could_ _ **anyone**_ _not feel it_?! It was so close, so _impossibly_ close…So much so that it was nearly _suffocating_ and yet… _Why_ couldn't anyone sense it?

Or was it just him? Was he _really_ going insane…? Just like he had thought he was throughout this entire week…?

With a start, Zero woke up from his racing thoughts when all of a sudden, Lily neighed and stomped her foot, then tossed her head and started to move from side to side restlessly. It was only then that the silver-haired teen regained his ability to move, and he immediately tried to calm the white mare. After a short while, he managed to do that, although not fully, as he could still sense traces of agitation from his friend.

But then other horses rose and joined them in their shared anxiety. They started to neigh and stomp and protest against the slow yet inevitable approach of the source of their distress in whatever way they could.

But it didn't help, as Zero could still sense it draw nearer in its painfully slow, taunting manner.

And all too soon, it reached its apparent destination and came to a stop.

Once again, Zero froze. His throat went dry and chest tightened unpleasantly, heart beginning to beat against his ribcage wildly. Breathlessly, he waited, internally praying for everything that he thought he sensed to actually turn out to be nothing but his sick, paranoid imagination.

Alas, it didn't.

"You can _feel_ me, can't you…?" came that familiar yet foreign voice that the silver-haired hunter already knew. It was loud and clear even amongst all the noise around him. And it was saturated withmockery and cruel amusement.

Zero didn't respond, but slowly turned around to face his newly arrived undesired company. He was met with a languidly widening creepy smile that didn't suit the face it was plastered on at all. And it sent a cold, sickening shudder down Zero's stiff spine.

Meanwhile, the newcomer continued, tilting his head slightly to the side and blinking in mock innocence, "Why is that, I wonder?"

Silence settled between the two, interrupted only by the noise created by the unchangingly restless horses. It didn't last very long. Although to Zero it seemed like excruciating hours had passed before the maroon-haired vampire standing in front of him spoke again, his dark grin widening further, "What is the matter, little hunter? Too frightened to speak?"

He was. And he didn't need to go too deep to realize that. Although, naturally, Zero would never admit it out loud, and especially to the person who was causing his uncontrollable fear.

Once again, the silver-haired teen didn't answer, and the older male continued, "But there is no need for you to worry. I am here merely for observation and not going to hurt anyone," he spread his hands dramatically and shook his head with half-amused half-condescending smile on his face. "At least not yet, that is. _And_ ," uncharacteristically intent, curious icy eyes focused on him anew, and Zero barely suppressed the urge to flinch back, "I do find certain things here rather… _fascinating_ …" Slowly, the vampire's smile widened and turned darker, as well as his gaze. "Wouldn't you agree, my dear hunter?"

Zero glared, then spoke at long last, "Who _are_ you?"

The maroon-haired male didn't even try to feign confusion. If anything, his smirk only further grew wider in more than obvious amusement as he asked in reply, "Why, isn't that obvious?"

Zero scowled in annoyance. He did _not_ like to be played with. "You're not Shiki-sempai."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, makes you think so?"

"I _know_ you're not him."

"Even if _no one else_ other than _you_ believes that?" Having received no reply, the noble continued, mockery clear in his tone, "It must have been so frustrating…so confusing…You probably even started thinking yourself insane at some point in time, didn't you, little hunter?"

"Stop calling me that," Zero growled with an angry scowl on his face.

His head tilting back, the maroon-haired vampire let out a deep, darkly delighted laugh, genuinely amused. "Oh, how entertaining indeed," he spoke after calming down. Then his eyes narrowed and amusement in them toned down noticeably, now replaced by an evil, dangerous glint. His voice sent another involuntary chill down Zero's spine when he continued next, although the teen managed to hide his involuntary reaction rather well. "But not as much as _teasing_ you with my presence, I'm afraid…It is most unfortunate for you though that not even my dear nephew seems to be able to sense me when I don't wish him to…now isn't it?"

Zero blinked, frowning. "Nephew…?" What was that vampire talking about…?

He didn't receive a reply. The maroon-haired noble before him only stared at him silently in that creepy, unfamiliar manner with matching smile that widened further and was completely unlike the Shiki that Zero was used to. And then, with yet another chuckle, he just turned around and left without looking back, leaving a confused yet undeniably relieved – although he did his best not to show that on the surface – hunter behind.

In spite of his now increased questions, Zero chose not to try stopping the other.

**-o-**

"I don't recall granting you permission to leave the dorm," sounded Kaname's voice that was the first thing that greeted the noble vampire upon his return to the Moon Dormitory. "Where have you been, Shiki?"

Shiki turned to look at his pureblood leader and blinked, somewhat dazedly, as if it was only now that he actually _saw_ the person in front of him. His usual impassive icy gaze remained on the brunet male for a few long, silence-filled seconds, before he tilted his head slightly to the side and finally spoke, "Did I go out somewhere?"

It was Kaname's turn to blink, but in surprise and bewilderment, although he did a splendid job at preventing those emotions from showing on his face – as always.

It didn't take him long to come to himself though, and as soon as he did, the pureblood asked sternly with a small frown, "I beg your pardon?"

"Wasn't I always here?" Shiki replied with another question.

As hard as he tried, Kaname couldn't find any traces of lie in the younger vampire's words. And it disturbed him greatly. He didn't like it at all – whatever itwas that was going on.

Kaname was about to continue his interrogation, when another voice, cheerful as ever, sounded from behind him.

"Shiki! You're back!" Takuma said with his usual radiant smile firmly in place. "How was your walk?"

Already busy digging through his pockets for one of his boxes of pocky, the maroon-haired vampire shrugged before replying distractedly in a flat tone, "No idea."

"Huh?" was all Takuma could manage. He was obviously taken aback by his roommate's answer.

But Shiki paid the other's reaction no mind and only yawned sleepily before retrieving himself one strawberry-flavored pocky stick and starting to munch on it sluggishly. Then he moved forward and, with an absently mumbled _'Good night'_ , went past the two older vampires and upstairs, not offering any explanation to his previous words.

He felt so very tired all of a sudden…Even though he mostly didn't do anything throughout this entire night.

Which, now that he thought about it, was somewhat a blur.

A faint frown came to Shiki's features when he tried to remember the night's events and failed. But it didn't stay there for long, disappearing after only a few brief seconds with another nonchalant shrug of the maroon-haired noble's shoulders.

Ah well, he decided he would think about it later, after a nice, much-needed rest, seeing as now he was way too sleepy to do anything anyway.


	14. Captured Memories

 

_It happened on one winter day a long, long time ago – at least in human years._

_Some weeks prior to that…strange…event, he had visited his_ _dear sister after a few months of being apart…A few miserable, lonely, dark months that actually felt like years even to_ him _. So when he_ finally _managed to find an opportunity to visit her at Cross's house, he did so immediately and without a second though_ _t._

_As always, his precious girl was happy to see him, and she met him with the warmest, brightest and most beautiful smile he had ever seen, and at once, all the darkness, coldness and loneliness Kaname had been feeling all these months retreated, now replaced by wonderful, pleasant warmth that only his sweet Yuuki could ever provide him with._

_Well, at least so Kaname had strongly believed back then. But that was beyond the point now._

_Just like Yuuki, Cross had welcomed him to his house and, after some short but nice talk accompanied by a cup of tea, the blond man left the two brunets to their own devices for them to catch up, for which Kaname was grateful. They talked – although, as usual, it was mostly Yuuki who did all the talking, excited as ever to tell her precious savior all about the recent events in her life. With greatest pleasure, the young pureblood listened to his beloved sister, nodding encouragingly every once in a while and quietly chuckling to himself from time to time, a soft, indulgent smile never leaving his lips._

_But then, at some point, suddenly even_ more _excited – if possible – than she already was, Yuuki started to talk about some new – and first ever at that, due to her sheltered life thus far – 'friends' of hers that_ Kaname _knew_ nothing _about. And, instantly, the pureblood felt…troubled, to say the least. He didn't like_ not _knowing about new people in his sister's life – and especially when they came into it_ without _his awareness and permission._

_Kaname didn't really pay much attention to Yuuki's next words about those newly acquired friends of hers, too absorbed in his anxious thoughts. Automatically, his sharp mind started to come up with various strategies, plans and ways to protect his precious girl from whatever threat the two unknown boys – as the brunet vampire understood from those few bits of Yuuki's overly enthusiastic and sometimes a bit disjointed from too much excitement blabber that did reach his ears – could pose to her._

_What? It was a perfectly normal reac_ _tion on Kaname's part. After all, no matter how small or young or harmless-looking, no one – and he meant_ absolutely no one _– could be trusted when it came to his beloved_ _sister. Who cared if they were just a couple of children? Until he was proven otherwi_ _se, Kaname_ would _view them as a potential threat._

 _Because in_ their _world, in the world of darkness, such were the natural laws of life. And Kaname had long learned to follow those laws – for his own sake and, most importantly, for the sake of his sweet Y_ _uuki…_

 _Thus, there was no doubt in the young pureblood's mind about what course of action he should take next. And even his talk with Cross, which took place later that same evening, didn't change his mind, in spite of the ex-hunter's attempts to assure hi_ _m that he had nothing to worry about, because it_ _was actually_ Cross himself _who had introduced Yuuki to those unknown children, who were also the sons of his close friends, as it turned out._

_Needless to say, Kaname was far from happy with the man's actions that were taken without his consent. But he chose not to express his dissatisfaction. At least for now. He decided he would wait and observe first and then assess this new situation after getting some more information._

_Which was exactly what he did. And so here he was, on his way to the place where Cross said he would bring Yuuki to meet with those nameless friends of hers, with every intention to find out who they were and whether or not they were as harmless as the ex-hunter deemed them to be._

_So that Cross – or anyone else who had hunter or vampire blood in their veins – wouldn't be able to take notice of his naturally strong pureblood presence, Kaname was almost fully suppressing it in order to ensure his complete inconspicuousness. And it worked. For when he got out of the car and, after walking some considerable distance, stopped to stand near an old, massive tree on a small hill a safe distance away from a group of people in the snow-covered field far ahead of him, neither Cross nor another man who was there beside him and who, as Kaname just realized, was also a hunter, managed to detect him._

_He chose a rather convenient place for an observation. It allowed him a clear view of the small group in the distance and, thanks to his beyond perfect vision, the brunet could afford to stay far away so that no human – hunter or otherwise – would be able to see him. And so there Kaname stood, his burgundy eyes immediately locking on the small forms of three children playing in the snow happily._

_His dear Yuuki's wide, radiant smile that she currently had on her beautiful, slightly flushed from cold face was the first thing that came into view, and it made Kaname's chest tightened uncomfortably._

_Never in his life had he thought that it was even_ possible _for him to feel this way when seeing his precious sister's wonderful smile – one that he always loved and cherished more than anything, one that_ always _made him feel nothing but warmth and joy…But it_ was _possible, as it turned out. And he didn't like what_ _he felt. But even more than that, he didn't like it when it wasn't_ him _and_ only _him that was the reason for his beloved's happiness, when it wasn't_ him _she was smiling at so warmly, but some_ complete strangers _._

 _It made him feel lonely… Immeasurably, mise_ _rably lonely and somewhat forgotten to a small but palpable extent. And it was painful. Very much so. It was the first time in his life that Kaname felt it and he had no idea how to get rid of or even handle it, but what the young pureblood_ did _know for su_ _re, was the fact that he_ never _wanted to experience it_ ever _again._

_Impulsively annoyed all of a sudden, Kaname tore his gaze from Yuuki and uncharacteristically glared at the two other children near the brunet girl, only now really paying them attention._

_But right then, in an instant, every bit of Kaname's exasperation disappeared into thin air at once as his eyes locked with a pair of big, innocently curious eyes of unique amethyst color the pureblood had never before happened to see in his entire life. And they looked straight at him, their gaze steady and piercing._

_For one long moment there, Kaname couldn't move, paralyzed. His pulse raced uncontrollably and he could almost literally_ feel _his heart beat wildly in his chest. For no reason whatsoever,_ _sudden panic welled up within the pureblood._

 _He knew perfectly well that those clear eyes couldn't really see him – there was_ no way _they could, as it was physically impossible for human eyesight – simple as that. And the fact that their owner had a_ _strong hunter blood – which Kaname could sense even from where he was currently standing – in his veins didn't change that simple law of human physique. But those lavender orbs continued to stare at him unwaveringly, certain that he_ was _indeed present even_ _if they couldn't find his form to prove it._

_And Kaname stared back at them, vaguely taking in the rest of the little hunter's features, unknowingly entranced by their unique coloring._

_All too soon, however, the spell was broken as that curious gaze left him to focus on someone else. And yet again, Kaname was taken aback when he was met with the exact same face, same hair, same coloring when his eyes landed on the one the little hunter turned his attention to._

'Twins…' _Kaname blinked. It was the first_ _time he ever saw ones, and it was a rather weird experience somehow, even though the pureblood knew that it wasn't so completely uncommon for humans to have twins – rare indeed, but still very much possible, which couldn't be said about the vampires. Howe_ _ver…_

_A slight frown marred the brunet's features. Those two were…_

'Hunter…twins…?' _And_ completely _identical at that. Well, save for the eyes and auras. The latters were only similar – just the way they were supposed to be, Kaname guessed – while the for_ _mers couldn't be more different in spite of being so undeniably alike outwardly._

_The second boy grasped the sleeve of his brother's thick overcoat and, tugging at it lightly, started saying something. Curious, Kaname strained his ears to hear the children._

_"…is it, Zero-nii?" the younger – as the pureblood now knew – twin looked in his direction, his amethyst eyes sweeping the horizon briefly. But he found nothing, as expected, and a small frown came to his chubby face._

_The older one – 'Zero', apparently – remained silent. Once again, his searching gaze shifted towards Kaname, and the brunet felt his heart rate become a little too irregular for his liking anew. The pureblood stood transfixed, staring back into clear lavender eyes that couldn't see him yet knew he was still there._

_Then, at long last, the boy spoke, "No…" he answered his twin absently, still focused on that 'something' which captured his undivided attention. "It's nothing…just-"_

_"Zero-chan! Ichiru-chan!" sounded another voice, cheerful as ever, interrupting the older twin and tearing his gaze from Kaname once more. It was Yuuki. She waved to them happily from where she stood, her bright smile never leaving her face, and called the two to join her and continue their snow games._

_The younger twin, 'Ichiru', gave a small nod, then turned to his twin and, with an inquiring look, tilted his head slightly to the side in a wordless question that the older boy seemed to understand somehow, as he only shook his head wordlessly in response and, with a soft smile and one final glance in Kaname's direction, followed his twin when the latter tugged at his arm and pulled him away._

_Kaname followed the two boys with his gaze as they went off towards a waiting Yuuki. He stayed where he was for a few long seconds more, then turned around and vanished altogether._

Kaname never saw the two boys again after that day – and apparently, neither did Yuuki for reasons the pureblood didn't know and hardly bothered to discover. It wasn't until that one fateful night that their 'reunion' of sorts happened, but Kaname was the only one who knew that, as the three children had no recollections of their childhood encounters from such a long – at least to them – time ago.

But Kaname did. He _always_ remembered. Because, for some reason, he couldn't forget.

And then, after a few more days, when Zero was fully aware of him again and could not only sense, but also actually _see_ him…they _really_ met.

And just like the first time, Zero had picked up on his presence right away. He had looked at him the same way with those very same amethyst eyes, still as clear and piercing as they had been the day the brunet vampire saw and got unknowingly enchanted with them for the very first time…

And now, Kaname couldn't help but wonder fleetingly…if _it all_ had already begun even back then…

**-o-**

"Cross! Dinner is long ready, so get your idiotic ass to the-" Ichiru said in a mildly annoyed tone, entering his guardian's study, but stopping almost immediately upon taking in the weird scene before him, "the hell is _that_?" There was a whole mountain of pictures on the floor. Cross sat in the middle of all that with one picture in each hand and a bunch of what looked like photo albums around him, mumbling something under his nose with the stupidest grin Ichiru had ever seen plastered on his face.

"Oh, Ichiru-kun!" the ex-hunter looked up and Ichiru had to resist the urge to flinch back as the man's smile got even wider and brighter – if possible. "Is it dinner time already?"

"I just said it is. And we're tired of waiting for you to come and take your damn seat at the table," Ichiru replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "But that aside for now, what the hell is going on here?"

"Oh, you mean these?"

 _'No, a crazy man sitting on the fl_ _oor in the middle of the room with an idiotic smile on his face and surrounded by hundreds of pictures and probably a dozen of albums is totally normal,'_ Ichiru mentally snorted.

Cross continued without waiting for an answer, "They are my treasured photos of all of _you_ , my precious family! I've been collecting them all these years and just look how many I have now!" He spread his arms to emphasize his point, his eyes almost literally sparkling with childlike joy.

Ichiru hummed absent-mindedly, taking another look at the whole amount of the scattered pictures. And then one of them caught his attention. "Is that…?" the teen said quietly to himself without finishing, his eyes widening a little in surprise. He walked further into the room, barely avoiding stepping on the photos, and picked up the one he was interested in.

"What is it, Ichiru-kun? Did you find the one y-" Cross started asking, but stopped when he saw the picture Ichiru was looking at. "Oh…" His happy smile was replaced by a sad one, a nostalgic look taking over his features. "And here I thought I lost this one." Which certainly wasn't so hard, considering the sheer amount of photos here.

For a few long seconds, Ichiru continued looking at the picture in his hand, his neutral expression back in place. Then he asked, "When was this taken?"

"Hmm…" Cross hummed thoughtfully, his light brows furrowing in contemplation for a couple of seconds before his face lightened up with a soft smile once more. "On your and Zero-kun's fourth birthday!" He nodded to himself while continuing, "Yeah, I believe so."

"Oh," came Ichiru's toneless response. He fell silent for a few more seconds, only continuing to look at the picture in his hand wordlessly with his cold amethyst eyes in detached contemplation. Then he uttered absently in a barely audible voice, "I almost forgot what they looked like…" Not that he really tried to retain it in his memory anyway – terrible as that may sound.

Cross sent him another sad, sympathetic smile, but didn't offer any verbal reply. He only gave the younger boy a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Can I have it?" Ichiru asked all of a sudden after another while of brooding silence.

Cross blinked, taken aback. Somehow that question took him completely by surprise in spite of the fact that it was absolutely normal. Where such reaction came from though, he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Sure," the ex-hunter nodded dazedly. "You don't have to ask. It's yours."

"Thanks," Ichiru replied simply after sparing another two seconds to look at the picture one last time before putting it into the pocket of his jeans.

Then the teen remembered what he had come for in the first place and his previous irritation returned. Turning to Cross, who was already back on the floor in his pile of photos, Ichiru was about to start voicing his displeasure at the old man's tardiness when, once again, somethingin the corner of his vision caught his attention and distracted him from what he was going to do. Only this time that _something_ evoked a much stronger reaction from Ichiru.

"The _hell_ is _this_?" Ichiru demanded, aghast, his eyes wide with shock as he made his way past Cross and towards the stack of pictures that captured his partly confused partly horrified attention and bent down to collect a few of them in his hands. They were of him and Zero together. From when they were little to their current age. And Ichiru sure as hell did _not_ remember _ever_ giving Cross permission to take them – or any other pictures, for that matter. And he was more than certain that the same could be said about Zero. They knew better than to go along with Cross's ridiculous – and more than often outright crazy – ideas. So, _obviously_ , the crazy man had gone and taken the damn photos secretly.

"Oh, these ones are my absolute favorites!" the blond idiot exclaimed happily with his usual goofy grin in place. Clearly, in his eyes there was _nothing_ wrong with what he had done. "Especially this one here," Cross continued enthusiastically, pointing to the picture of Ichiru and Zero sleeping snuggled up together in their shared bed when they were smaller – probably about eleven or twelve years old. "Just _look_ how _cute_ the two of you are!" He literally squealed, also jumping up with excitement like a total idiot that he was.

Ichiru barely restrained himself from facepalming and simply looked at Cross with an unreadable expression on his face. _'Okay,'_ he thought, _'It's official now. The old man is insane. Completely and utterly insane.'_ And if five minutes ago he _still_ had some doubts, now they were gone forever, together with the last bits of his irrational faith in remnants of the man's non-existent common sense.

" _When_ did you even take these?" Ichiru asked then, interrupting Cross's incessant and very annoying ramble about him and Zero and Yuuki and how _'adorable'_ they all were – and especially so when little. "No, wait." Ichiru raised his hand and signaled for the blond to stop, shaking his head. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know." The whole thing was creepy enough already. He didn't need the details. "What I do want though is a double lock on our room's door. And it should be there by tomorrow's night latest." Cross opened his mouth to say something, but Ichiru stopped him by raising his hand again and continuing, "Otherwise I'm telling Yagari-shishou, or worse yet – Kuran." The ex-hunter's face paled noticeably in what Ichiru assumed was fear, and a satisfied smirk slowly made its way on his lips. "So unless you want to get your crazy ass repeatedly shot and slashed, you better fulfill my _request_. And fast."

"Oh come now, Ichirun." Ichiru's eyebrow twitched at the stupid nickname, but he chose not to say anything, knowing it wouldn't help anyway. Meanwhile Cross went on with his Drama Queen act – all puppy eyes and crocodile tears. The usual. "Surely you wouldn't be so cruel to your poor old daddy!"

Ichiru snorted internally, but outwardly didn't react in any way and only continued looking at his guardian impassively.

"And besides! I didn't do anything wrong! After all, what parent doesn't want to take pictures of their precious babies?"

"In _that_ amount?" Ichiru asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.

But Cross was unfazed and only beamed brightly – and almost proudly – at him, exclaiming happily in response, "That's the whole point! The more the better!"

The silver-haired teen gave a heavy sigh. His eyes slid shut and he pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in silent surrender.

Honestly, Cross and his crazy antics…The man was simply unbelievable. And he was already starting to give Ichiru some _major_ headache.

"Whatever," the younger Kiryuu said after taking a few silent seconds to compose his thoughts. "Just get the damn lock fitted on our door before _I_ get _you_ beaten to a pulp for your unhealthy habits of a crazy old creep."

Before the blond idiot could enter his puppy-eyed, whiny Drama Queen mode again, Ichiru continued, "And be grateful that I'm not confiscating these," he held up the pictures before shoving them into Cross's hands, then he went past the man and towards the door. "Dinner is ready, so hurry up and get to the damn table. We can't start without you."

Immediately, the ex-hunter's face lightened up at the words and, all starry-eyed and grinning from ear to ear, he cried joyfully, "Aww, how sweet my adorable little babies are! Being so caring to their old daddy!" and moved to hug his adoptive son. However, as per usual, Ichiru easily dodged the 'attack' by stepping aside, and then left altogether, not sparing Cross who was now lying face down on the floor a single glance.

**-o-**

Kaito had his gun out and ready the second he sensed a vampire presence in the vicinity.

He could tell it wasn't a rabid Level E. And it wasn't a high-class vampire either. In fact, now that Kaito really paid attention, it was a sickeningly familiar presence he knew all too well. Although that particular revelation didn't exactly encourage him to put his weapon away. If anything, now his urge to shoot something grew even stronger.

But he resisted it. Just like he always did – hard as it was. Because he _had to_.

"I thought _Zero_ was supposed to meet me?" Kaito said when the source of his irritation and secret distress entered his field of vision. Needless to say, it was evident that Ichiru was far from delighted to see him too. Well, at least that the two hunters unchangingly had in common.

"He couldn't make it," Ichiru replied with a slight scowl. "So sorry to disappoint you." Naturally, he wasn't sorry at all. And they both knew it.

"Oh?" Kaito raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What happened? You drained him to the point where he couldn't even move?"

"Shut up." Ichiru's scowl darkened, his irritation more clear in his expression now. "Get going already. The sooner we get to the damn academy the better."

Kaito let out a derisive snort, but complied nevertheless. It wasn't like he was eager to spend any more time in Ichiru's company than necessary. "You didn't answer my question. Why, did I hit the bull's eye?"

"In your dreams." He would never hurt his twin like that, no matter how hungry for his delectable blood he could be sometimes. "Zero had something else to attend to and I offered to go instead of him. End of story."

Dark eyebrow rose once more, just as skeptical as before. "Oh? Who would've thought that you could actually be so _thoughtful..._ " The older hunter said, emphasizing the last word with mockery clear in his tone. Then a dark smirk made its way on his face and he continued, "And so brave too."

Ichiru's eyes narrowed. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"That maybe you shouldn't have come here all alone, with no Zero around to protect you."

The younger teen bit back a menacing growl. "Is that a threat?"

"Just an educated guess," Kaito answered calmly with an indifferent shrug. "You do remember the result of pretty much _all_ of our encounters so far, don't you?"

Ichiru snorted, "You give yourself too much credit. As always."

"Am I? Your big bro isn't here now to save your sorry vampire ass."

Contrary to the ash brown-haired hunter's expectations, Ichru's smirk returned, now wider and darker. "Exactly," the teen started, lavender eyes flashing bright red briefly, and Kaito didn't miss it. His posture stiffened and he instinctively gripped his gun tighter while Ichiru continued, "Which means I don't have to suppress that vampire nature of mine that you detest so strongly and can let it go all out and have lots of fun tearing your head off your shoulders."

Hazel eyes narrowed in a cold glare and Kaito growled warningly, "Don't forget _who_ you're talking to, Ichiru. I'm not Yagari. And sure as _hell_ not your softy of a brother, so I _will_ shoot you, and I'll do it with _greatest_ pleasure too."

Ichiru was unfazed. "Not if I get to you first. And besides," his smirk widened, turning somewhat mocking now, "do you _ho_ _nestly_ believe you can kill me?"

Dark eyebrow rose at the question. "I don't see what could possibly stop me."

Ichiru gave a derisive snort before answering, "Facing Zero after that, for example." When Kaito didn't give any verbal response and only kept on watching him carefully from the corner of his vision with narrowed eyes as they proceeded on their way, the younger teen continued, "You can hate _me_ all you want, but for _Zero_ you _do_ care. That's why you've been tirelessly trying to get him to _'realize'_ – as _you_ probably see it – what a 'danger' and 'twisted monstrosity' his twin _'really'_ is at every opportunity you got throughout all these years, haven't you?"

Kaito hardly showed any reaction to the other's words, but there _was_ a subtle change in his demeanor, and Ichiru didn't fail to pick up on it. His smirk widened further. He turned his gaze to the road ahead of them and continued in a mock sympathetic tone, "What a pity though, that the one you regard as a little brother you never had always chooses to dismiss your genuine concerns for his well-being...All in favor of that same 'dangerous, twisted monstrosity that leeches off of him his entire life'..." He turned his attention to the older hunter once more, his head tilting slightly to the side, "Right?"

Kaito scowled, growling, "Bullshit." Never in his life would he admit that Ichiru was – _kind of_ – right. Even if it _was_ indeed so. "Don't speak as though you know what I think or feel. You don't know a thing about me."

Ichiru snorted, "Maybe," he shrugged with a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I don't really need to know much about you to understand how you feel about Zero and me. It's not so hard to see through your pretense, you know. Especially when you take a little time to observe." Which Ichiru was, without exaggeration, _very_ good at. "So tell me," the younger hunter continued after a short-lived pause, turning to face Kaito anew, "do you _really_ want to deprive my brother of the only family he has left? To take away his _twin_ that has been with him since even _before_ he was born…?"

His questions were met with silence. But Ichiru didn't need an answer anyway, as Kaito's expression said it all. Bitter defeat, however concealed, was unmistakable there.

The older male averted his gaze, scowling, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Another snort sounded from Ichiru. He returned his attention to the road, a small satisfied smirk tugging at his lips as he said quietly, "Thought so."

No word was uttered after that as the two continued on their way to the Cross Academy.

**-o-**

He had had a little over three weeks of rest from that paralyzingly terrifying, cold feeling, and secretly, he had been praying that it would never come back – even though he knew in his troubled mind that it would hardly be the case. And he didn't have to wait long to be proven right in his apprehensive guess.

"How have you been in my absence, little hunter?" came the foreign familiar voice, and Zero let out an involuntary sigh. So much for hoping that maybe, just _maybe_ ,he would be ignored this time around.

The hunter turned around to face the one that spoke to him, meeting with that same familiar face with that same unfamiliar expression back on it again. Strangely enough though, he didn't feel as desperately horrified now as he had before. That cold, unpleasant darkness was still there, emitting from Shiki's form in waves, and it was making him sick as much as before, yes. And his hunter senses were just as agitated too, but by now, after their numerous weird encounters, Zero stopped reacting so strongly to the other's overpowering presence. Even if undeniable fear was unchangingly within him and it was more than _just_ uncomfortable to be anywhere near that creepy vampire whose name he still didn't know.

Zero didn't reply, so the maroon-haired noble resumed speaking, smirking, "Oh, come now, don't be like that. I came all this way," he spread his arms dramatically, emphasizing his words, his expression turning to one of mock hurt, "just to greet you, after all."

"Didn't you mean to say that you came all this way just to have some _fun_ by _mocking_ me _again_?"

Shiki shrugged, snorting softly with laughter, an amused smirk back on his face, "Well, that's one way to put it."

"Don't you have anything else to do? Or somewhere else to be?" Zero said with another sigh and turned his back on Shiki to continue on his way to his intended destination. He was tired and not really in the mood for idle chatter.

"Hmm…" the vampire hummed softly, pretending to think over his reply. "No, not right now," he answered, already following after Zero. "Why, aren't you at all happy to see me?"

"No," was the younger teen's blunt reply.

Unfortunately for him though, it seemed to only increase the noble's amusement even more, as the next moment he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Entertaining as ever, aren't you?" Shiki said upon calming down, still chuckling lightly. But then something else caught his attention, and his brows drew together in a faint frown. He blinked, tilting his head to the side a bit, and then caught up to Zero in an instant and grabbed him by the arm.

Zero stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. Widened in involuntary alarm lavender eyes immediately turned to Shiki, and their owner instinctively tried to get away from the said vampire. But he was unsuccessful in his attempt and only ended up getting closer to the noble, who promptly tightened his hold on him in response.

Then, to Zero's shock and greatest bewilderment, the older male _sniffed_ him.

 _'What the…'_ the hunter thought, frowning, ready to voice and finish his question out loud when the vampire hummed softly and said absently, "You smell of lilies…"

Zero blinked, taken aback. He couldn't find a reply, rendered speechless by the other's bizarre behavior. He didn't really need to offer one though, as Shiki continued after a momentary pause, "I never took you for a flower lover," he said, an unspoken question clear in his eyes.

"I'm not," Zero uttered unconsciously in response when the noble let go of him – at long last. Their close proximity was making the silver-haired teen _extremely_ uncomfortable, to say the least, and he immediately stepped away. "Not that it's any of your business."

The vampire smirked again and clearly was about to give a retort of his own when a familiar, ever so cheerful voice called out to him.

"Shiki! There you are!" came from Ichijou Takuma, and never in his life had Zero been as happy and relieved to see the blond as he was now. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" the noble continued as he came up to the two of them, all happy and sunny as ever. Then he turned to Zero and nodded lightly in greeting, "It's nice to see you, Zero-kun. How are you tonight?"

"Fine…" Zero nodded in response, a bit absently, "Thanks."

"What is it?" Shiki chose to speak then, turning to Ichijou.

"Oh," the blond blinked, returning his attention to the younger noble, "Kaname-sama demands your presence back in the dorms. You left without his permission." Takuma's expression turned uneasy now and he added, almost cringing, " _Again_." And needless to say, Kaname was _very_ displeased…

"Is that so?" Shiki said in reply in his usual bored tone. "Well then, you can tell him that I will be back soon. I'm not finished _here_ yet." He cast a quick glance in Zero's direction, an uncharacteristic, dark smirk coming to his lips briefly.

"But Shiki-" Takuma started to protest with a positively panicked look on his face from the unexpected reply he was given. But he didn't get to voice whatever it was he was going to say, because the next moment another presence joined them – one very unhappy at that.

"You will return to the Moon Dormitory at once, Shiki," came from Kaname in a cold and, to Takuma, very much frightening tone. "And you will stay put there until _my_ further instructions. Is _that_ understood?"

It was hardly a question but a clear order. Although for a moment there, it looked like Shiki was going to protest. But he chose to obey the command, albeit reluctantly.

A small smirk returned to his previously imperceptibly darkened expression, he put his hand on his chest and gave a mocking bow, saying, " _As you wish_ …Kaname- _sama_ …"

And he left together with a still noticeably nervous Takuma, but not without giving Zero another brief, creepy smile that sent an unpleasant shudder down the silver-haired teen's spine.

"Zero-kun," Kaname called softly then, immediately gaining the said teen's full attention. "I need you to tell me what is going on."

Automatically, Zero opened his mouth to give another one of his standard _'It's nothing'_ in answer to the pureblood's question. But he was unable to do so this time around, stopped by the worriedly imploring look Kaname was giving him with his soulful burgundy eyes.

After a few more seconds of silent hesitancy, a quiet sigh of surrender escaped Zero. And then, with a small nod of his head, the hunter uttered a soft _'Okay'_ in response and complied with Kaname's request.


	15. Special Existence

 

"So our little hunter _finally_ told you?" were the first words that greeted Kaname upon his return to the Moon Dorms. And now that his recent mild suspicions were confirmed, he could tell for sure that at these very moments it wasn't his cousin who was talking to him at all.

Mentally, Kaname uncharacteristically cursed and kicked himself _hard_ numerous times for being stupid enough not to notice earlier. Much, much earlier. For, as he had gathered from Zero, these… _visits_ of his _'uncle'_ had been transpiring for quite some time, and rather frequently too. Not to mention that it all had been happening pretty much right under his nose, while he was foolishly unaware of it like some stupid, oblivious human – not to offend humans, of course. But it _was_ true that overwhelming majority of them _was_ blissfully ignorant of all dangers and threats surrounding them in their everyday life – such was their nature, and so when it came to them, it was acceptable. But it was definitely _not_ the case with Kaname and _his_ world. Thus the pureblood's anger and deep frustration with himself.

"Oh, come now, don't make such a face," came the familiar voice with its currently unfamiliarly sickening tone, and for the umpteenth time that night, Kaname got the strongest urge to slap himself. He must have been _completely_ _deaf_ and _blind_ not to realize sooner. "You should be grateful I was kind enough not to do anything to any of your precious human… _'frien_ _ds'_ …and when there were _so_ many opportunities for it too…" the smirk that the clearly possessed Shiki had been wearing on his face all that time widened, and Kaname's hands curled into fists at his sides, his jaw set tight and expression dark. The younger vampire continued, "Getting soft, aren't you, Kaname?"

"Shut up," the pureblood growled out threateningly, but the other vampire remained unfazed. "And leave _them_ out of it."

"I'm afraid I can't _quite_ grant that request of yours, dear _'nephew'_ …For while I may have lost some of my original interest in a certain relative of ours for the time being...there is another _fascinating_ thing in this academy that has caught my attention." Shiki's lips lifted some more as his smirk widened further. "I believe you know _who_ I am talking about..."

Before either of the two could even blink, the pureblood was pinning Shiki to the wall by the neck, his narrowed eyes blazing dangerously and fangs gleaming, fingers tight around the younger vampire's pale throat.

Kaname knew he was making a mistake, he _knew_ it was the exact kind of reaction the other _wanted_ to get from him. Yes, in his head he understood it all too well, but he still failed to restrain himself from responding the way he did.

And yet the possessed vampire in his tight grip stayed unfazed. If anything, it only seemed like he was all the more amused – at least so his annoyingly smug expression suggested.

Letting out a quiet, threatening growl, Kaname pressed the younger vampire further into the wall, barely containing himself from simply snapping the slender neck in his hold. Then he spoke, "You _will_ leave them alone. You will leave _him_ alone…And you will _never_ come near him again. Not anymore." He wouldn't allow it.

"Oh?" One delicate eyebrow rose, icy eyes glinting with uncharacteristic, derisive mirth. "And what, pray tell, will stop me? _You_?"

Before Kaname could reply, the expression on Shiki's face slowly turned blank, then his form slackened all of a sudden and he lost consciousness. Internally cursing everything to hell for the umpteenth time that evening, Kaname released his hold on the other vampire and let him fall, his face still set in a dark scowl as his _relative's_ last words kept resounding in his agitated mind.

**-o-**

After all the shocking revelations that had almost literally fallen on her in the past few months, Yuuki honestly thought that nothing could surprise or even affect her in any way anymore, but as it turned out, she was – _yet again_ – wrong. So very, _very_ wrong. And once more, when she thought and sincerely hoped that her inner self couldn't get any uglier, it turned out that, yet _again_ , she couldn't be more mistaken.

Only this time, this particular new revelation of Yuuki's made her seriously afraid of some part of herself that the girl now knew was quietly sleeping within her.

It all had started with a dream. A disjointed, confusing, bizarre, filled with blood and decisively disturbing one. It had given Yuuki a fright when she had just woken up, but mere minutes later whatever it was she had seen in her sleep suddenly faded away from her distressed mind without leaving a trace, and soon she simply had no idea _why_ she had been so agitated upon waking up in the first place. And so, since she couldn't really make anything out of that supposed nightmare, she had chosen to dismiss it in the end after some time of attempted pondering on it.

The only problem was that _it_ refused to get dismissed so easily…

It had come back the next night. And the night after that. And then some more nights after that as well. It got clearer and more memorable each time. And each time Yuuki was more frightened and unsettled by it than the previous. So much so that by now nighttime and naturally coming with it sleep made the girl feel nothing but helpless apprehension. Every time she wished that there would be no more of those weird violent visions, that they would go away and leave her alone at long last. She didn't want to see them, she didn't want to know what they meant and she definitely didn't want to even think of what they probably said about her own true self.

"Come on, Ichiru…" sounded the familiar voice of her favorite adopted brother, distracting the girl from her anguished thoughts. Guilty brown eyes turned to the two forms on the bed in the dark room, worry evident in them as well as hesitation. For a few more seconds of uncertainty, the brunet stayed where she was and had been for some while now – in the doorway of her adopted brothers' shared room. But then, when she at long last managed to muster the courage she needed, she slowly entered the room and asked quietly, "How is he, Zero?"

The answer was obvious from Zero's face alone, if distress and silent panic written all over it were anything to go by. It was so unusual to see the older twin in such a rattled state. He was always calm and composed, and Yuuki was used to it. Seeing him the way he was now only served to show how severe the situation probably was – to such an extent Zero was affected by it.

"Not good," came the reply to Yuuki's question after some while of troubled silence from both sides. Zero touched Ichiru's damp forehead for probably the hundredth time that evening and his frown of concern deepened. "I think he's getting worse."

He felt so cold… _Too cold_. Especially seeing how heavily he was sweating.

Zero brushed a few damp silver locks from his twin's face. His hand landed softly on Ichiru's cheek and his fingers automatically stroked it, his worried gaze never leaving his other half's features. A soft yet noticeably sad smile tugged the corners of the older teen's lips slightly up when, even unconscious and most probably delirious, his counterpart still reacted to his familiar touch the way he usually did and nuzzled his hand, although the gesture was too weak for Zero's liking this time around.

Then, unexpectedly, Ichiru opened his mouth a bit, revealing two small, partly aroused fangs, and tried to bite the warm, soft flesh so close to his lips. But he failed in his sluggish attempt, apparently too weak to actually succeed in it.

Zero blinked, hopeful all of a sudden.

Not wasting any more time, the older hunter shifted from his current position on the bed to sit at the headboard with his twin in his arms and leaning against him limply. He guided Ichiru's head to his neck and let it rest on his shoulder, waiting for the younger teen to react the way he was supposed to.

"Zero, what are you…?" Yuuki started asking, but stopped herself when realization dawned on her. Now, for some reason, she only felt more uncomfortable being there.

Zero, however, paid the brunet girl no heed and continued trying to somehow coax Ichiru into biting him. Once again, to Zero's brief relief, his counterpart seemed to react, as he leaned closer to his neck and even gave it a small lick this time around. The older twin was already anticipating the familiar by now sensation of the bite when all of a sudden Ichiru slackened in his hold anew with a small, pitiful whimper escaping him.

Zero cursed under his breath, frustrated. But then another idea quickly came to his mind, and it was only then that he fixed his gaze on Yuuki for the first time that evening.

"Bring me a knife," the silver-haired teen said, his tone calm but still with traces of urgency in it.

"Eh?" Yuuki blinked, dumbfounded. "K-knife…? Why do you-"

Zero cut off the girl almost impatiently, "Just do it, Yuuki. Please."

Yuuki was hesitant to comply with that request and it was evident. But Zero's pleading eyes and urgent tone hardly left her any room for protests or more questions. So she fulfilled her adopted brother's request and quickly fetched one of the knives from their kitchen in spite of her uneasiness about doing it.

The petite brunet handed Zero the knife wordlessly. The next second, a shocked gasp sounded from the girl as she watched the older teen slice the palm of his hand with it, fast and unhesitant in spite of the pain he undoubtedly felt – at least so his expression suggested.

"Zero!" Yuuki cried in panic and worry, "What are y-? Stop!" But she was completely ignored. Zero only threw the knife carelessly on the floor, brought his bleeding palm to Ichiru's mouth and patiently waited for his other half to react. To Zero's relief, he didn't have to wait long. After mere seconds came a tentative lick that was almost immediately followed by another, more confident one, and before long Ichiru was sucking on his twin's palm greedily.

Even as he winced involuntarily from stinging pain, Zero let out a soft sigh of relief, his deep frown slowly smoothing out a bit.

Meanwhile Yuuki completely forgot about what was transpiring less than a meter away from her. Instead, the girl's undivided attention was fully concentrated on the floor – or rather, the knife that was lying there innocently after it had been so carelessly discarded. Yuuki had no idea what exactly it was about that silvery object that made her eyes unable to shift away from it, and she hardly cared. The idea of actually giving thought to her sudden weird fascination with that knife hadn't even crossed her currently blank mind.

And so the brunet girl stood there motionlessly and, as though entranced, stared at the bloodied utensil unblinkingly. But it was the dark, prettily colored substance on it that was so unexpectedly enticing, Yuuki absently realized. She felt as though it was calling out to her quietly, beckoning her, tempting her to get closer and touch it, smear it over her suddenly dehydrated skin, feel it on her lips and… _and_ …

Before Yuuki knew it, she had the knife in her slightly trembling hands, her widened eyes still fixed on it unwaveringly. She stared at it for what felt like an eternity. Then that wonderful red started to ever so slowly get closer, closer and closer, and before long the girl could actually _smell_ it, could almost _taste_ it…And those sensations were _divine_. Now if she could only…

The tip of Yuuki's tongue was mere inches away from the blood on the knife when, all of a sudden, the girl was brought back to reality by a pained groan.

Startled, Yuuki dropped the knife, her brown eyes wide with confusion swirling in them. Somewhat disoriented, the brunet blinked slowly a few times, looking around as if she didn't quite know where she was. Then her gaze landed on the floor, and she stared. Then blinked again and stared some more, before her attention was stolen once more by another groan – this one weaker, but pained nonetheless.

The girl raised her head at the sound and her curious gaze immediately landed on two familiar forms on the bed, right where she had last seen them. Ichiru was still feeding from Zero, only now he was drinking from the wrist, not the palm.

Yuuki involuntarily winced, absently thinking of how painful it must be for Zero. His current expression certainly suggested so. And he seemed somewhat paler than usual too. And the trembling…

Wait, _trembling_ …?

Yuuki blinked again, her still slightly dazed mind finally starting to clear up for real.

Zero…was trembling...wasn't he?

 _Why_ was he trembling…?

Was he in so much pain...? Or…

Or maybe… _something_ …was wrong there…?

"Z-Zero…?" Yuuki uttered uncertainly in a barely audible voice, feeling anxious all of a sudden. And that anxiety only deepened when her older adopted brother not only failed to offer her any kind of response, but his form also seemed to start going somewhat limp.

Brown eyes widened in fear and panic.

Not losing a second anymore, Yuuki started towards her two brothers with every intention of tearing Ichiru away from Zero. However, she was stopped in her tracks when what seemed like wind flew past her and then, the next moment, a dark, familiar figure appeared before her eyes. She couldn't see the face, as the man's back was turned to her, but Yuuki would recognize that form anywhere.

"Kaname-sama…?" The brunet girl breathed out.

But she was ignored again, as the older male was busy with getting Ichiru's still hungry fangs out of Zero's pale wrist.

In spite of the small fight that Ichiru instinctively put up in silent protest, Kaname succeeded in his task without much difficulty. Then he put his hand on the younger twin's head, and after mere seconds, the said teen's struggles ceased and he went limp, falling unconscious.

Zero's eyes widened and he called his counterpart's name weakly, his voice laced with confusion and panic. Then his distressed gaze turned to the pureblood, "Kaname, what-?"

"He is just sleeping." Kaname interrupted Zero before he could finish his question, his tone sharp and expression stern – unusually.

Zero blinked, taken aback. For reasons he couldn't even try to comprehend, the look Kaname was currently giving him made him feel almost regretful about his actions.

"Yuuki, could you please leave us alone?" Kaname spoke again without turning to the said girl, "I need to have a word with Zero-kun."

Yuuki remained frozen in place for a few seconds and just stared stupidly at the back of her savior's head. It was only when unusually cold dark gaze landed on her that the younger brunet came out of her brief daze. She couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran down her spine at that unfamiliar, frighteningly steely look.

"O-of course, Kaname-sama," she somehow managed a stuttered reply, "I'm s-sorry." And she hurriedly left.

Tense silence descended over the room.

Kaname refused to meet Zero's now hesitant gaze for a very long while. Which, in turn, only added to the said silver-haired teen's sudden uneasiness.

When Zero couldn't take the unnerving silence anymore, he called uncertainly, "Kaname…"

A surprised gasp escaped the young hunter the next second as, abruptly, the brunet vampire took a firm hold of his sluggishly bleeding wrist and slowly brought it to his lips – all the while still not lifting his burning eyes to the other teen.

Zero flinched slightly when Kaname gave a hard and unusually rough suck to his wound, but he didn't dare say another word, merely watching the eerily silent pureblood.

It went on that way for a few tense minutes. Then, at long last, Kaname was finished with his task. He gave Zero's now fully healed wrist one last long, languid lick and lifted his head. It was only then that the brunet let his gaze land on the awaiting hunter before him, and his fingers involuntarily tightened around the pale limb that was still in his grip.

"…Do you have even the vaguest idea how foolish what you just did was, Zero-kun?" Kaname asked softly, frowning in disapproval.

Zero could only blink stupidly, momentarily dumbfounded. He came to himself soon enough though, and was about to reply when Kaname continued, "He would have drained you without a second thought had I not come." Zero opened his mouth to protest – the pureblood could tell, as disagreement was written all over the hunter's face. But Kaname didn't give him the chance to do so and went on, "And then he could have easily attacked Yuuki and killed her as well."

Zero still wanted to protest against Kaname's words, but his expression was different now – it had morphed into one of guilt that came with sudden realization. And while Kaname didn't exactly want to make the silver-haired teen feel that way, he couldn't deny that he did feel a certain amount of satisfaction from seeing it.

Because he was angry with Zero. Silently, secretly, invisibly, but still _was_. And _had been_ every once and again for quite some time – somewhere deep, _deep_ down, on levels even he himself wasn't really aware of. And on that same level, Kaname unconsciously wanted to punish his painfully oblivious beloved for his endless foolish recklessness…

"And if _that_ wasn't enough…" the pureblood continued to press on still. "He would have gone hunting and fed on the first unfortunate soul that just so happened to be nearby. And it would have gone on and on, until your brother came to his senses. _Or_ until he was forcibly stopped. By _any_ means necessary." Zero's free arm involuntarily tightened around Ichiru's limp form protectively, uneasiness evident in his eyes. He understood what Kaname was talking about, and he didn't like the idea in the slightest. He never wanted to even think about it.

"Ichiru wouldn't have…" Zero started to protest nonetheless in spite of the fact that he _knew_ that Kaname was probably right in his words. But he stopped and fell silent again, his gaze lowering to his counterpart and staying there for a few long, contemplative moments.

"I'm sorry," the silver-haired hunter uttered at long last. He lifted his head to look at the brunet vampire before him anew. "I'm sorry, Kaname, I…"

Kaname breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"I didn't mean for Yuuki to…" Zero faltered, failing to finish, and only repeated once more, "I'm sorry."

And every bit of relief that Kaname had previously felt disappeared, now replaced with only more frustration and involuntary anger. He simply couldn't believe that Zero _still_ didn't get it.

The said teen blinked. He didn't fail to pick up on the subtle change in Kaname's expression and posture that became unusually tense all of a sudden. His head tilting ever so slightly to the side, Zero called softly, "Kaname…?"

The brunet unconsciously tightened his hold on the slender wrist further.

"-not that…" Kaname uttered in a barely audible tone after a short while of another eerie, tense silence from his side.

Zero blinked again, having not quite caught the pureblood's words. He was about to ask the other to repeat what he had said when Kaname did so on his own.

"It's not that at all," the vampire said, nearly scowling now. "What I meant was- it's…" Kaname averted his gaze and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "It's not about Yuuki at all…!"

Zero's eyes widened slightly at the tone of the other's voice. It was probably the first time he saw the usually perfectly composed Kaname like that. And he didn't like it. Not in the slightest. For some reason that he didn't really care to even ponder on, everything in him hated seeing the pureblood before him like that, in such a state. And the fact that _he_ was apparently the one to blame for it certainly didn't help ease his guilty conscience.

"Kaname, I-" Zero started almost urgently, but was interrupted.

"It's _you_ , Zero-kun…" Now somewhat imploring, burgundy eyes locked with lavender ones anew. Kaname continued, " _You_ and your _actions_ …your _recklessness_ whenever it comes to Ichiru-kun. _Why_ can't you see how dangerous such situations as _this_ are?"

It wasn't that he didn't see or understand. He did, on a certain level, he did. But it didn't matter. Because it was…

"I do understand, Kaname." Zero started with an apologetic look on his face. "But I can't help it. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. It's _Ichiru_ …" And that pretty much said it all, at least in Zero's book. "He is my _brother_ , Kaname, my _twin_ …" A very, very special existence. Immensely so. "If _you_ were me, wouldn't you do the same? Wouldn't you be willing to do it for your most precious person…?"

The pureblood chose to ignore the sharp pang he felt from hearing the other's words and concentrated on the question instead.

Of course he would. Without giving it a second thought. If he was in the same situation, he would do the same for Yuuki and…he would gladly do even _more_ than that for Zero. If only the boy asked…

But of course, Zero had no idea how the brunet vampire felt. He had no idea what a special existence he was for him…

Kaname didn't give any verbal response, as it wasn't necessary either way. They both already knew what his reply would be, after all.

"But…there are still blood tablets," the pureblood said instead, unwilling to give up. "They quench the thirstjust fine. If only Ichiru-kun started taking them, there would be no need for you to-"

"They don't work," Zero interrupted the older male. Lavender eyes turned to the unconscious form that was still in their owner's arms, softening noticeably at the sight before them. Zero brushed a few silver strands from his twin's face, caressing the younger teen's pale cheek softly in the process.

Kaname suppressed the strongest urge to growl and turn away from the sight. No matter how many times he happened to witness such wordless displays of gentle affection, he couldn't get used to the painful tightening of his chest that they never failed to evoke.

"Ichiru tried them a couple of times a while ago," Zero started to explain. "He wanted to make it easier for me, so he took those pills." _And without telling him t_ _oo…_

Zero's gaze stayed on his counterpart for another few seconds, thoughtful, before turning back to Kaname. "But they didn't help. He fell sick after taking them, and it seemed like they only worsened his bloodlust."

Kaname's garnet eyes widened in shock. He had never heard of such reaction to the blood tablets. But if Ichiru was indeed somewhat allergic to them for some reason, then…

The pureblood's gaze lowered to the said teen's unconscious form and stayed there for some while.

Silence stretched, before Kaname decided to break it, his garnet eyes still on the younger twin, thoughtful. "In that case…" he started absent-mindedly, pausing for a few contemplative seconds. Then his attention returned to the older twin, his dark gaze now clear and serious, and continued, "Allow _me_ to give my blood to Ichiru-kun from now on."

Lavender eyes widened in surprise. Zero blinked, stunned to the very core of his being. He honestly thought that he had heard wrong. "Huh?" was all Zero could manage in reply.

A soft, indulgently amused smile appeared on the brunet vampire's lips at the other's reaction. Suppressing a soft chuckle, he repeated his request-like offer, in response to which Zero only continued to stare wordlessly at him while blinking slowly in apparent astonishment some more. And for some weird, unexplainable to him reason, Kaname couldn't help feeling all the more amused as he looked on at the boy's face.

It was only after another few long moments that Zero came out of his brief stupor and spoke again at last, "No, Kaname, it's…What are you even talking about? You don't have to-"

"I know," the pureblood interrupted the young hunter before he could finish his sentence, giving a small nod. "But I _want to_." _'For you...'_ was left unsaid. "And I also want _you_ to _stop_ feeding Ichiru-kun." _'For me…'_ as well, was left unsaid. "Please, Zero-kun," Kaname asked, looking at the silver-haired teen imploringly.

Silence came over the two anew as Zero regarded the brunet vampire before him uncertainly.

It stretched for a rather long while, during which neither of the two conscious individuals said a word, merely looking each other in the eye unwaveringly.

Zero was confused and more than just uncertain and reluctant to agree. There was no way he could actually allow Kaname to…

Having made up his mind, the silver-haired teen was about to open his mouth and decline the pureblood's unexpected offer when, all of a sudden, his wrist that was still resting in Kaname's hold received a soft squeeze, and those deep burgundy orbs that were staring at him so intently turned even more imploring – if that was possible.

Zero didn't even notice how his head lowered slightly to give a small nod of consent.

What he did notice, however, was the somewhat relieved expression that came to Kaname's face, along with a content smile that tugged the corners of the said male's lips upwards. And he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy seeing those.

**-o-**

Ichiru woke up to his brother's warm embrace and familiar, soothing scent. He slowly opened his hazy eyes, still groggy from the deep slumber he had been in only seconds before, and just like always, the first thing that greeted him was his sleeping twin's face, and immediately, a soft smile came to his face.

He remained still at first, choosing to simply gaze at his other half quietly. After a few moments of staying that way, one of his hands went up to Zero's cheek and caressed it lightly before cupping it, his movements gentle and careful so as not to wake up his twin. Then he leaned in closer until their foreheads were touching, and his smile fell a bit, a thoughtful look coming to his face in its stead.

Ichiru continued watching his other half like that for one long minute, his eyes taking in every small detail of Zero's face that was the exact reflection of his own yet didn't seem that way to him in the slightest. Unconsciously, his gaze stopped on his twin's lips after its thorough exploration. Ichiru's lavender orbs darkened ever so slightly at that moment, and before he knew it, his thumb was tracing the soft, pink flesh his attention was currently devoted to.

At some point, Ichiru leaned even closer to his blissfully oblivious counterpart. His lips turned dry all of a sudden and his tongue automatically darted out to moisten them. Ichiru stayed where he was for another few tense, breathless seconds, his racing heartbeat incredibly loud in his ears in the absolute silence of the night. He was so close he could feel Zero's body heat on his own skin now, their lips less than a mere inch apart. Ichiru almost made to move forward the next moment, and God knew, he wanted, _really_ wanted to. But he came to himself at that instant and managed to stop before it was too late.

The teen blinked slowly, his gaze clearing, and moved away abruptly. His hand left Zero's cheek, he carefully got out of his twin's embrace and slowly lifted himself to sit up, watching his other half contemplatively yet again. Then, after some while, Ichiru bent forward and, gently putting his palm on his counterpart's identically silver hair, gave Zero a slow, tender kiss on the side of his forehead. After which he got up and left the room quietly.

He didn't really have any particular destination in mind, hardly even paying attention to where he was going. It was somewhat on autopilot that his legs brought him towards the kitchen, and only then did Ichiru realize how ravenously hungry he felt – unexpectedly.

 _'_ _Guess I was out of it for quite some time_ _, huh…'_ the teen thought to himself, unconsciously rubbing his empty stomach. He really hoped that those two voracious idiots that were his adopted father and sister hadn't eaten _everything_ Zero had prepared for dinner like they _always_ did. He honestly wasn't in the mood to cook – or do anything else, for that matter – right now, and his stomach was hardly in any mood to wait.

Ichiru scowled slightly in irritation at the very probable prospect. He was already in the kitchen and about to find out whether he was right in his presumptions or not when, upon switching on the light, the silver-haired teen discovered that he wasn't the only occupant of the room.

"Yuuki…?" Ichiru called, blinking at the familiar small back of the brunet girl in surprise.

A loud sound of something falling and colliding with a hard surface came the moment Ichiru finished saying the name. The older teen blinked, taken aback by the unusual reaction. _What in the world…_

"Oh, Z-Zero! What is it? Why are you up?"

Ichiru raised an eyebrow at that. Yuuki never mistook him for his twin and vice versa. At least not anymore. She knew too well how different the two of them were, having lived under the same roof with them for such a long time. Not to mention the obvious difference in their appearance.

"I could ask you the same thing," Ichiru replied without answering the brunet girl's questions. "And I'm not Zero. Obviously. Have you gone blind or something?"

Yuuki's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh…Of course…You're awake, Ichiru…" A weak but genuine smile came to the girl's face. "Finally you got better, you made us all really worried, you know. Especially Zero…" Her smile turned sad and she lowered her eyes for some reason that Ichiru wasn't particularly curious to know. So he dismissed the gesture and merely asked instead, "How long was I out for?"

Yuuki's previously contemplative gaze cleared as it returned to the older teen anew, "Two days…"

Lavender eyes widened. _'That long?'_ Ichiru thought, surprised by the answer. To think that some random Level E's poison could affect his system to such an extent…

"I see…" Ichiru said absent-mindedly in response.

"How are you feeling?" Yuuki asked next.

"Fine. A bit hungry though. I hope you and that old idiot left me at least _some_ food." Ichiru replied with a skeptically arched eyebrow, in response to which Yuuki gave a small laugh that seemed somewhat forced to Ichiru. Still, he chose not to question the brunet girl.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of food," Yuuki reassured, moving forward and towards the door now. "I'm glad you're okay, Ichiru," she said, stopping briefly to give the older teen another smile. Then she bid him good night and left.

Now alone, Ichiru almost went to the refrigerator to see for himself whether or not his adopted sister had told him the truth about there actually being some food when he remembered something and moved towards the sink instead. He looked into it, and his lilac eyes widened slightly, curiosity in them now replaced by bewilderment at what they had found.

With a slow blink, the silver-haired teen reached into the sink to retrieve a sharp object that was lying there. It was a knife. Their kitchen knife that they used every day – something that could be found in every house, nothing special at all. However, there was one thing about it that captured Ichiru's undivided attention, and that was the dark-red color which the knife was painted in. He could tell it was blood, just as well as he could tell _whose_ blood it was exactly – the scent was unmistakable, in spite of the fact that the liquid had long dried on the steely surface.

A frown marred the young hunter's features then, as a question of how on earth that very familiar blood got on that knife came to his mind. Zero wasn't injured – Ichiru hadn't smelled any blood on him when he had woken up. So _how_ the _hell_ -

Amethyst eyes widened once more, silver brows going slightly up in surprise when the hunter turned over the cutting tool in his hands and found something else which he couldn't quite comprehend.

Had someone… _licked_ the knife…?


	16. Deep Connection

 

 _"I would try and tone down that killing intent of yours a little if I were you. Otherwise_ they _will sense you too…" sounded a childish voice in an unusually adult tone that one would never expect to get from someone so small and young._

_Hiou Shizuka didn't expect to hear it too, and thus it took her by surprise._

_Pink eyes widened slightly with bewilderment evident in them. Then the woman blinked slowly, trying to somehow take in the unexpected situation and, with initial shock now slightly dissipated, she spoke._

_"Is that so?" She pulled on a small smile, her usual mask of impassiveness back in place again. "And what, pray tell, are you talking about exactly, dear child?"_

_The said child didn't change in expression and hardly even blinked. He merely continued to look at her with that knowing look in his violet eyes, standing still where he was, unfazed._

_She had to admit, that got her intrigued. It wasn't every day that she came across someone like that – who was not only a mere child, but also just a human at that – his despicable hunter blood aside. She could tell that he knew who she was, and yet here he was, calm and unfaltering for reasons she couldn't comprehend. Even his heart beat at a normal pace, which already was more than just odd._

_And interesting too…_

_"…Zero felt you the first night you came, you know." Even though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was his senses had detected._

_Shizuka's smile fell and was replaced by brief surprise anew, while the boy continued, "You woke him up, actually. When he first told me, I didn't understand what he was talking about; my hunter senses stand nowhere near his, after all. But then I felt it too." For no more than a couple of seconds, but he still sensed it for sure. He only wondered how their parents, the great vampire hunters that they were, still managed to miss it._

_Then again, it wasn't like they spent an awful lot of time at home._

_Which Ichiru couldn't really complain about. After all, he liked being alone with his twin the most._

_"Well, that is…impressive, I suppose." It surely was, because she never stopped concealing her presence. Although now it didn't seem to her that she did quite perfect a job on it as she had thought. "But why didn't you or your brother tell your parents about me then?"_

_Silence settled between the two as the boy took his sweet time to answer, his now slightly lowered gaze contemplative. It was only when he replied that his big lavender eyes returned to the woman before him._

_"Will you kill them?" Ichiru asked out of the blue, and Shizuka's eyes widened once more. To say that the question and its very wording left her dumbfounded would be a huge understatement._

_Nevertheless, she came to herself soon enough and replied with a question of her own, "And what if I said yes?"_

_"Then I wouldn't have the reason to tell them."_

_This time around, she couldn't really say that she was greatly surprised by the child's answer. She had thought that maybe she had been wrong when she had first caught on it while quietly observing the hunter family from afar, but now she could tell she had been right. Which…_

_A small smirk made its way on the perfect pink lips._

_Which only made her revenge that much sweeter… However…_

_"And what about your twin?" He was different. He was a different case altogether._

_"He doesn't know anything." He didn't need to..._

_"For now. But I wonder, what will happen when he finds out? Unlike you, he does care deeply for your parents. You are aware of that, are you not, child?"_

_"I am," Ichiru answered._

_Of course he was. He knew that all too well. But…_

_"But he loves_ me _more than them. He will choose_ me _over them." Zero would always choose him…"Over everyone and everything else."_

_"Oh?" Shizuka raised a perfect eyebrow, a small smirk playing on her lips. "What confidence." She had to wonder where it came from, and at such an age too. "But love and forgiveness are two different things. Do you honestly believe that your brother will truly forgive you?"_

_Violet eyes lowered, now clouded in contemplation. The two individuals remained silent for some while as Ichiru took a few moments to answer._

_"I do," the boy uttered a bit absently, still lost in thought. Then he looked up at the woman before him anew with confidence back in his gaze and voice, "Zero_ will _forgive me."_

_Shizuka let out a soft chuckle. "That we shall see."_

_Ichiru's gaze lowered once more, his small chubby hands curled into fists at his sides, "…He will."_

'He will. For sure…' _The boy repeated in his mind over and over like some kind of mantra. He_ really _wanted to fully believe in those words._

_The pureblood didn't offer any response this time around. Instead, she decided to ask a question that had been on her mind since the first moments of their conversation._

_"I might very well kill you and your brother as well though. Has that thought not crossed your mind, child?"_

_Ichiru looked up again, blinking. "It has," he answered calmly. Of course such an idea_ had _visited him, and more than once. The mere fact that he was still a child didn't mean that he was stupid or naïve enough not to consider that more than probable possibility. It was a vampire he was dealing with – and a pureblood one at that. "But you're not interested in killing us."_

_Ichiru could tell. If there was something he was good at, it was reading people – no matter who and what they were._

_"You only want to take_ their _lives. And about us…well, you don't really care," the boy finished, shrugging._

 _"That may be true, but who said that I wouldn't want to make them suffer first?" Shizuka replied with another question, a small smirk back on her lips. "After all, losing you two would make your parents most devastated…So_ why _in the world would I miss such an opportunity?"_

_Ichiru stayed silent for some while, merely looking at the vampire woman before him impassively. And then he asked a question that managed to surprise Shizuka yet again, "If you want to do that…then why haven't you killed us already? You've been here for a while…You could have done it long ago." And she had had plenty of opportunities to do that too. "So why are we still alive?"_

_Shizuka's smile had long faded and her gaze turned thoughtful with no traces of previous playfulness left in it. She was far from amused by the fact that a mere child had actually managed to see through her to such an extent. It was somewhat…unnerving…to say the least._

_But still…_

_The pureblood chuckled, a faint smile tugging at her perfect lips anew. "How interesting…" she said, amusement twinkling in her pink eyes. "I am looking forward to seeing what will become of you and your beloved twin in years to come…."_

_And the next moment, she vanished from sight and Ichiru was left alone._

_The boy let out a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding and stayed where he was, motionless, for some more time. Then, deciding that it was time to go back if only not to make his other half more worried than he most probably already was, Ichiru turned on his heels and headed home._

**-o-**

"What's this?" Ichiru asked, raising his eyes from a small glass vessel in his hand to Zero, a faint frown creasing his forehead.

"It's…um…" Zero started falteringly, briefly dropping his gaze to the item in question as well and receiving an arch of curious eyebrow from his twin. It was only after some while of hesitant silence that he finished, "It's Kaname's blood."

Ichiru's violet eyes widened in shock. He almost dropped the fragile object he was holding.

Not that he would have been too upset if he had.

The younger hunter's face twisted into a grimace as he all but hissed out, " _What_?" But more importantly… "Why on earthwould you give _this_ ," disgust was more than clear in his tone as he emphasized the word, averting his gaze to the vessel for a fraction of a second before turning it back to his counterpart, "to _me_? And how the hell did you even get it, nii-san?"

"Kaname gave it to me."

Of course. It was a stupid question – Ichiru had realized it the moment he had asked it.

"And he wants you to drink it," Zero added, earning an arched eyebrow from his brother.

"So I've gathered. But _why_ would he want that?" And more importantly, _why_ would Ichiru even think of dinking _that_? The mere thought of doing such a thing made him cringe. That stupid pureblood must have completely lost his mind if he actually thought that he would take his vile blood.

"Because…Well, he…" Zero started to reply hesitantly, not really sure how to put it. "It's because of what happened last time…" he trailed off, knowing that his twin would guess about the rest.

Ichiru's eyes widened, he had to suppress an involuntary flinch at the mention of _'last time'_. He had already been informed of what had happened by Yuuki – if her incoherent blabbering could even be called anything close to informative. Still, it had given him a pretty vivid picture of what he had unconsciously done. And he couldn't deny that it had affected him. To say that he now was a little apprehensive of drinking from his counterpart again would be one massive understatement.

"Oh…" was all Ichiru could offer in response as he lowered his gaze. For some reason, it felt unbearably hard to meet his older brother's eyes all of a sudden. Even if Ichiru knew full well that he wouldn't find any of the hurtful to him emotions that he very much deserved to have directed at him there. It was Zero – _his_ Zero, after all…

And yet that knowledge hardly made it any better.

"I see…" the younger teen said, his lilac eyes still avoiding that of his other half and now focused on the blood-filled vessel, thoughtful.

An uncharacteristically awkward silence settled over the room then. It lingered for some while as Ichiru continued to stubbornly avoid his twin's gaze that was fixed on him, unwavering.

A soft sigh sounded from Zero. He moved forward and towards his younger brother, his hand automatically going up to settle on Ichiru's still lowered head. A small, indulgent smile made its way on his lips and, affectionately stroking his counterpart's silver hair, he spoke quietly, "No one blames you for anything, Ichiru. It's okay. It was my fault anyway. You have no idea how angry Kaname was with me because of it." Zero's expression changed to one of guilt for a few seconds as he recalled the events he was talking about. But then his full attention returned to Ichiru anew, and he continued, "So don't go blaming yourself for anything, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm okay, and so is Yuuki. And if you don't want to drink Kaname's blood so much, you don't have to do it. I'll just…I'll settle it with Kaname…somehow…" Even though Zero really, _really_ hated to break the promise he had given the pureblood. "You got me?"

It was only then, after another couple of hesitant seconds, that Ichiru managed to make himself lift his head and look his beloved twin in the eye. He was met with a soft, affectionate smile – so painfully familiar and pleasantly comforting – and, like always, it chased away his doubts and fears and guilty misery without fail, albeit still only partly. But it _was_ true that he felt somewhat better now.

Ichiru breathed a quiet sigh of relief, silently grateful to his counterpart, his tense shoulders relaxing. Zero did always know how to make it all better.

The younger teen put his hand over that of his twin to move it so it would be cupping his cheek. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled the warm palm on his skin, another soft sigh – this one of pure content – escaping him.

Companionable silence that had descended over the room lingered for another few long, pleasantly relaxed moments before Ichiru decided to break it with a quiet _'Thank you'_ , after which his now thoughtful eyes opened, and he continued, "It's okay though. I will drink it." If only for now, and just to keep his brother safe and healthy. All those feedings _had_ been affecting him, after all. No matter what Zero himself said about it. "It's not like it'll do me any harm, right?" Ichiru finished with a small smile.

Zero blinked in surprise. He quickly came to himself though and, with a soft smile of his own now back on his face, gave Ichiru a slow nod in response.

**-o-**

"Surely you can't be serious about it," Ichijou said with an uncharacteristically uneasy smile on his face. The turn that their conversation had suddenly taken was making him more than just a bit uncomfortable. "Why-… _Why_ would you even _agree_ to such a thing, Kaname?"

"I wasn't exactly the one who had to agree to anything. After all, _I_ was the one who suggested it in the first place." Kaname replied with a tired sigh, having pretty much predicted the reaction he would most likely get from his friend. Never stopping doing the paperwork he was currently busy with, the pureblood continued, "And you _know_ why better than anyone else, Takuma."

The noble's expression softened at that. He nodded slowly, "I do…" Of course he did. How could anyone _not_ know or at least guess? It was a wonder how by now only a few people managed to notice what was – and had been for quite a while – happening to their beloved pureblood leader. Especially considering how painfully obvious he could be about it at times. "But…Kaname, you don't have to go that far. Why can't you just…I don't know, confess…?" Kaname's hand stopped writing the moment the last word left the blond noble's lips. He froze. But Ichijou chose not to pay his friend's reaction much heed and continued, "Or something like that. It's not like Zero-kun hates you or anything, you know."

He did know. But, alas, it didn't really make the fear of rejection any easier to overcome. There was just too much at risk. And Kaname was far from ready to lose it all in a mere moment because of no more than just a few unnecessary words – no matter how true and important they were.

"It's far more complicated than you think."

"Of course it is. You make it so yourself," the noble replied, now frowning almost disapprovingly. "You'll never be able to make any progress in that relationship if you go on like this, Kaname…"

"Ichijou…" the brunet vampire said in a tone that clearly suggested that he didn't wish to discuss the matter any further.

Only Takuma wasn't ready to drop the subject just yet. "You know I'm right. Yet you choose not to do anything and just let it stay the way it is only because it's easier to do so."

Kaname's fingers curled into tight fists, the pen in his hand breaking in the process and staining his perfect skin with ink. But the pureblood himself hardly noticed, as his attention was now fully devoted to the blond vampire before him.

"It has _never_ been easy," Kaname hissed through gritted teeth, his garnet eyes narrowed with angry red dancing in their depths dangerously. "Do not speak as though you know how I feel, _Ichijou_ ," his stern tone turned threatening as he uttered the name, and it sent icy chills down Takuma's spine and made the said vampire lower his gaze in instinctual fear and submission. It was a final warning, and the noble knew that. It wasn't his childhood friend he was talking to right now but his pureblood leader and vampire prince who was very clearly showing his displeasure with him.

Which was understandable. Takuma _had_ stepped out of line, after all. And knowingly too. But…

His trembling hands curled into fists. Takuma raised his eyes and, in a moment of complete foolishness that could be rivaled only by that of Aidou, he opened his mouth to offer another argument, but one paralyzingly dark glance that was accompanied by a barely audible yet unmistakably threatening growl from Kaname quickly shut him up.

The noble lowered his head again, in complete surrender this time, and uttered quietly, "I apologize, Kaname-sama."

A tense silence followed.

It was only after one unbearably long for Ichijou minute that his pureblood leader answered, his voice still as cold and leaving no room for protests.

"I have a business to attend to at the Council. Take care of everything here while I'm absent."

The blond vampire closed his eyes and gave a stiff bow, replying, "Of course, Kaname-sama."

Kaname was already gone when Takuma finished speaking.

**-o-**

It was crazy. And dangerous. Very, _very_ dangerous in every sense of the word. In fact, Takuma was pretty sure that he would lose his unexpectedly foolish blond head for what he was about to do, and yet he _still_ was going to do it. Which made him insane. Completely and _utterly_ insane.

So now he was one completely and utterly insane vampire deadman who was willingly approaching his terrifying and excruciating end like a total idiot with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.

…Maybe Aidou and his foolishness _were_ contagious after all?

"Ichijou-sempai?" Yuuki's surprised voice pulled the blond vampire out of his less than optimistic musings as the girl opened the door to the Cross residence after Takuma had given it a few distracted knocks.

"Hello, Yuuki-chan. How are you?" Ichijou greeted the little brunet in his usual manner, his bright smile plastered firmly on his handsome face. Then, upon noticing the girl's current attire, he added, "Going somewhere?"

"Um, yes. To the town. With Ichiru. And I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh?" Takuma's emerald eyes turned mischievous, his smile morphed into a small smirk. He leaned closer to Yuuki and asked in a hushed tone, winking, "Is it a date?"

"Wha-! Wh-what are y-you…Wh-why w-would you even-" the brunet started to reply stutteringly, her face now bright red, but she was interrupted before she could finish.

"Like _I_ would _ever_ agree to go on a _date_ with _that_ idiot," Ichiru said, scowling, as he stepped into the hallway with Zero walking quietly behind him.

"What!?" Yuuki whipped around to face the younger twin. She stomped towards him and, huffing angrily, continued, "Like _I_ would ever go on a date with an insufferable, mean bully like _you_! Like _anyone_ in their right mind _would_!"

Ichiru snorted, smirking. "Like anyone would even ask _you_ out. But hey, at least you have finally accepted the fact that you're an idiot. It's good to know that you're not as hopeless as I thought." The younger twin shot back, his tone as insufferably condescending and smirk as mocking as ever – at least to Yuuki's ears and eyes.

With a small cry of frustration, the brunet girl stomped her little foot angrily and then turned to the older silver-haired teen. "Zero! Did you hear that?!" She exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at a still smirking Ichiru. "He is being mean to me again! Do something!"

Takuma chuckled softly to himself while Zero gave a small laugh, smiling indulgently, and answered, "Come on, Yuuki, you know Ichiru. He isn't serious." Zero ignored the snort that his other half openly gave at the last part. "He is just fooling around."

"I don't care! He is _still_ being a big, fat meanie!" Yuuki replied, pouting childishly. "Scold him!"

Takuma and Zero blinked simultaneously while Ichiru arched a mocking eyebrow.

It was the younger twin who spoke next, "First of all, out of all of us, _you_ are the one who needs to stop stuffing your face with whatever food you see. Otherwise you'll get even fatter than you already are and _we_ will starve to death here in the near future."

"What!?" Yuuki exclaimed indignantly.

But Ichiru ignored her and continued, "And secondly, leave nii-san out of it and try to beat me on your own for once in your life." The teen paused to give a dramatic sigh and then continued in an even more condescending manner while patting Yuuki's head mockingly, "Hard as it might be with _your_ wits."

Zero let out a tired sigh, shaking his head, while Takuma could only offer a nervous smile, mentally sweatdropping. Both wisely chose to stay silent.

"That's it. I'm not going anywhere with you, you jerk!" Yuuki declared, slapping Ichiru's hand away and sticking her tongue out at the said teen. She was about to go back down the hallway and into the living room that she had come from in the first place when the mean one of her two adopted brothers stopped her by putting his large hand on her head anew.

"Oh no, you're going," Ichiru replied in an unexpectedly stern tone. "Nii-san and I went last week and now it's your turn. Stop being such a lazy ass and work a little. I'm not going to carry all the grocery bags on my own, and you're already spoiled enough as it is."

" _Me_? _Spoiled_?" Yuuki's brown eyes bulged to an immeasurable extent. She couldn't believe her ears. "Like _you're_ one to talk! Zero always spoils you rotten!"

Ichiru huffed in response to that almost proudly before replying, "Naturally. I _am_ his cute little brother, after all."

Yuuki's eyes went even wider – if that was possible. " _Cute_? What part of _you_ is cute?!" The brunet girl shot back with a huff of her own, arms now crossed over her chest. Even she was so much cuter than _Ichiru_ of all people.

"To Zero? _Everything_ ," the younger twin replied confidently. Then he turned his attention to his other half and asked, "Right, nii-san?"

Zero could only blink stupidly before automatically giving a nod.

Ichiru turned back to Yuuki with a satisfied smirk on his face, "See?"

With yet another cry of frustration, the girl stomped her foot exasperatedly and then turned around on her heels and left the house, pouting and huffing angrily on her way out.

"Ichiru…" Again, Zero sighed tiredly and shook his head.

"What, nii-san?" Ichiru replied with a sweet smile, blinking innocently, as though he _really_ had no idea what could be wrong with what he had just done.

Zero looked at that mock innocent expression for a few long moments, then let out yet another sigh and shook his head once more before answering, "Nothing. Go and don't forget to treat Yuuki to a huge bowl of her favorite ice-cream. Got it?"

Reluctance was evident in the younger twin's expression, but he still nodded and gave a soft _'Yeah'_ in response before leaving.

Following the two with his gaze, Ichijou let an amused chuckle escape him once more as he closed the door. It was only then that he decided to speak, "Maybe it would be wiser if you went with those two, Zero-kun? I do get the feeling that Ichiru-kun won't stop his teasing."

Zero chuckled in response, silently gesturing for Takuma to follow him further into the house, and the noble was all too happy to comply. He could tell that the young hunter had cooked something delicious – if the faint yet undeniably divine scent that was lingering in the air was anything to go by. And Takuma found out that he was correct in his assumption the moment he arrived at the kitchen.

"You're right, Ichiru is far from done. He only just got into it," Zero replied as he gestured for the blond to have a seat. Then he turned on the stove, placed a kettle on it and took out two cups and saucers and put them on the counter. "It's okay though, it's just their usual daily routine. Yuuki is used to it by now."

Takuma blinked, genuinely surprised by the statement. "It didn't seem that way to me though…"

"Don't worry, Ichiru knows when to stop, so Yuuki will be okay. _And_ she will get a reward for her suffering."

"I see," the blond vampire replied, chuckling in open amusement. Then his attention was stolen by that wonderful smell anew, and after a short silence, he asked, "By the way, Zero-kun…What have you cooked this time?"

The hunter blinked, slightly surprised by the sudden question. But that feeling quickly passed and he answered, "It's Lime Coconut Cheesecake…But how did you know I cooked anything?"

"Why, the scent of course. I felt it when I was still in the hallway, and let me tell you, it's absolutely wonderful!" Takuma explained in an excited tone, his bright smile almost blinding now.

Zero's eyebrows rose and he automatically sniffed the air. He didn't sense anything out of the ordinary though, and a small frown came to his features. It took the hunter a few short moments to realize why he had come up empty.

 _'Ah, that's right…'_ He had sort of forgotten that Ichijou was a vampire.

Which wasn't a first, really. With the guy's personality and never-vanishing smiles it was fairly hard not to forget about that particular detail. Honestly, Ichijou totally ruined all the classical vampire images.

"It got me wondering though, is it my imagination, or you really do cook different types of cakes every couple of days or so?" Not that Takuma visited the Cross residence very often, but whenever he had been here, he had always gotten to have a taste of some cake – and each of them had been different too.

Zero hummed absently in thought, then gave a nod and replied, "Pretty much. Yuuki does have _a lot_ of cakes she wants to try." To say the least. The girl's list of those cakes and sweets was simply enormous. And how she even knew of their existence, considering she was utterly hopeless when it came even to simplest cooking, was a mystery to Zero. "Although this one was requested by Ichiru." Who, unlike Yuuki, albeit was far from hopeless, was still not big on sweets and such, as he preferred savory. "Speaking of which, it should be ready right about now." As well as the water for their tea…

Zero took a big cheesecake out of the refrigerator, then turned off the stove and started making two cups of tea, continuing, "I need someone's opinion on it, so you came here just at the right time, Ichijou-sempai."

"Oh, that's great then. Glad I can be of use to you, Zero-kun," the noble replied happily. In all honesty, he believed his timing couldn't be better.

A companionable silence filled the room then as Zero went about his tasks and Takuma quietly watched him do so, still grinning from ear to ear like a kid that was about to get his favorite treat.

"Oh, that's right…" the silver-haired teen spoke a short while later after placing two cups with tea and plates with cheesecake on the table. "Not that I mind or anything, but…Why are you here, Ichijou-sempai? Did you need Cross?"

 _'Ah…'_ Takuma froze briefly in realization. _'Of course…'_ It was only now that he actually remembered the very purpose of his visit.

The noble put his cup that never made it to his lips back on the table and replied, "No, um…actually, I came to see _you_ , Zero-kun. I…" Takuma paused, swallowing nervously. He lifted his eyes to look at the silver-haired teen before him and continued, "I want to talk to you about something."

Silver brows rose a bit in mild surprise. "About what?"

"Well, it's about…uh," Ichijou started, but faltered, hesitant and very unsure how to say it all of a sudden. Only after a few very long – and tense, at least to him – moments of silence did Takuma manage to finish, his emerald eyes now bright with determination shining in them. He _would_ do it. "It's about Kaname."

**-o-**

It was a few hours later that Ichiru and Yuuki got back from their shopping trip.

Ichijou had long left by that time, so it was only Zero whom the two teens found washing dishes upon arriving at the kitchen with their grocery bags. Almost immediately, Yuuki's attention was completely captured by the delicious-looking cheesecake that was – at least in the girl's head – just begging to be eaten, and so she dropped whatever was in her hands and rushed towards it with a squeal of delight, completely ignoring a sharp and very clearly annoyed _'Hey! Get back here and do your share this instant, you idiot!'_ sent her way by Ichiru, who could only scowl at being so blatantly disregarded.

But it didn't take the younger hunter long to forget about his irritation, as the next moment his undivided attention shifted to his counterpart, who still hadn't spoken a word or even looked at him or Yuuki since they got back.

Ichiru's violet eyes narrowed after a short while of silent observation. He thought there was some kind of change in the air around his twin. It was very subtle, but still there. Although Ichiru doubted that anyone else would be able to pick up on it.

"Nii-san…" Ichiru called softly, now walking towards Zero. He put his hand on the said teen's shoulder and his eyes widened in surprise when, uncharacteristically, his brother flinched in response to his touch.

Thoroughly bewildered now, Ichiru continued, asking, "What's wrong?"

Zero blinked, clouded in thought lavender eyes clearing. He hadn't even realized that he wasn't alone anymore. "Ichiru…" he said quietly, traces of mild surprise still present in his tone. "You're back."

"Mm," Ichiru nodded, his gaze turning worried. "Did something happen?"

Zero's eyebrows rose a bit in bewilderment at the question. "No…" the teen replied after a few seconds of hesitation. "No, nothing happened," he repeated, more confidently this time around, before asking with a slight tilt of his head, "Why did you ask?"

"You just…seem to be a bit off…"

Zero could only blink in puzzlement. He lowered his gaze, amethyst eyes turning thoughtful once more as he uttered quietly, "Is that so…"

As expected of Ichiru. There was nothing Zero could really hide from his dear twin, was there…?

A small smile made its way on the older hunter's face at that thought. For some reason, he couldn't help but find that trait of his counterpart somewhat endearing.

Zero looked up and his smile widened some more, now with a tint of guilt in it as he took notice of his other half's concerned expression. Immediately, his hand went up to Ichiru's head and he gently patted soft silver locks there in wordless apology and gratitude. Which the younger twin had no problem perceiving, and he gave his counterpart a soft nod in understanding.

The silence between the two turned from slightly strained to companionable now, and it stretched for some time until Zero decided to break it, "I was just a bit…preoccupied, I guess."

That made the frown return to Ichiru's face. "With what?" What was so important that got his twin's attention to such an extent?

Zero's expression turned thoughtful once more. He didn't answer right away, unsure as to what and how to say.

Which made Ichiru that much more curious and concerned. And, for some inexplicable reason, nervous to an extent.

"It's nothing, just…" sounded Zero's voice after a few tense moments of silence. "Just something I was told. Don't worry about it," the older teen finished with a soft smile back on his face.

But Ichiru wasn't fooled, just like he wasn't about to let it go. With every intention to continue their current conversation and ultimately find out what it was that was bothering his counterpart, Ichiru opened his mouth to ask another question when he was interrupted by an annoying, high-pitched squeal of sheer joy that sounded at that moment – so untimely.

The younger twin's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the interruption.

"Oh my God, Zero! It's so incredibly delicious!" Yuuki, oblivious as ever to pretty much everything that was going on around her, praised her favorite adopted brother with a huge grin from ear to ear, her brown eyes bright with excitement and pure delight almost literally shining in them.

Ichiru wanted to wince at the sight while Zero merely chuckled in amusement. "Is that so?"

"Of course!" Yuuki replied happily with an enthusiastic nod. "I can barely stop myself from eating it all!" She really did seem to be telling the truth, if her going back for another piece was anything to go by. It was only now that the twins noticed how little of the cheesecake was suddenly left on the plate.

Ichiru was the first to react. His eyes wide with surprise and horror, he moved towards the table. "You aren't even _trying_ to! Get the hell away from _my_ cheesecake, you gluttonous idiot!" And he snatched the plate with whatever was still left there away from the brunet girl's reach.

Zero couldn't help chuckling at the childish pout on his twin's face as Ichiru regarded their adopted sister with an endearingly accusing look on his face. His other half really did hate it when others took or even touched his things. Zero was probably the only one who was somewhat _allowed_ to do that – but only because he never had the very tendency to do so in the first place.

"You don't even _like_ sweets!" Yuuki protested, ignoring the way Ichiru called her. "And who said that it's _yours_?!"

" _I_ did," the younger hunter shot back. "Besides, it was _me_ who asked nii-san to make it. So keep your greedy hands off it and wait for another one of your stupid strawberry-flavored cakes."

Yuuki responded with a childish pout of her own, replying, "So what if _you_ asked for it? Zero made it for us all! _And_ you can't even show it the appreciation it deserves anyway! Unlike me!" The girl huffed almost proudly.

"Yeah, right," Ichiru snorted. "You will just gobble it down without even noticing you did that."

"I will _not_!"

"Sure as hell _will_."

And so it started again. Yuuki continued with her protests in spite of the fact that she most likely didn't believe in her own words herself. But it was just too frustrating for her to admit that Ichiru _was_ indeed right – yet again.

And Ichiru…

Another amused chuckle fell from Zero's lips as he looked at his beloved twin.

Ichiru was actually almost hugging the plate with _his_ cheesecake protectively to himself, which made the whole scene that much more amusing.

Still chuckling quietly to himself, Zero moved towards the many forgotten grocery bags and picked up a couple of them to start unloading them – at long last. It didn't look like either Ichiru or Yuuki would get to them any time soon anyway, seeing how busy they still were bickering.

Looking at his two dear siblings, Zero shook his head with an indulgent smile on his face. As always, he chose not to interfere and left the two be, quietly going about his new task.

Internally though, Zero wondered idly…

Maybe he _should_ tell Ichiru and Yuuki that there was another Lime Coconut Cheesecake waiting for them in the refrigerator…?


	17. Glass House

 

If until only a few days ago Takuma was somewhat sure that Zero was only pretending not to notice Kaname's feelings – which were, quite frankly, more than _just_ obvious if one paid enough attention – for him…then now he had no doubts that he had been terribly and absolutely wrong in his assumptions.

But, honestly, _that_ level of obliviousness was simply unimaginable!

Takuma covered his eyes with his palm and shook his head in disbelief with a long sigh.

The boy was a vampire hunter, for God's sake! And a _very_ good one at that – if what he had heard from Kaname was anything to go by. How _could_ he be so sharp when it came to his job and so damn _unbelievably ignorant_ when it came to affairs of the heart?

Naturally, Ichijou realized that it was always easier to see and judge matters from the sidelines, but… _really_ …

The noble let out another long-suffering sigh, shaking his head once more.

Honestly, Kaname should _thank_ him for _helping_ – so to say – Zero finally start realizing. For otherwise it would have probably dragged on for _years_ more to come. And Takuma already felt sorry enough for his poor childhood friend as it was – in secret, of course.

 _'So, yeah,'_ the blond thought to himself with a firm nod of his head, _'Kaname definitely_ should _be thankful, right?'_

…Only Takuma was too afraid to tell his pureblood friend and leader what he had gone and done without his permission or even knowledge – even if he did truly believe that he had done the right thing. But he knew all too well that Kaname would hardly agree, let alone be happy with him. And Takuma was _very_ far from eager to have a _pureblood's_ anger directed at him. Especially if that pureblood was Kaname – he could be _terrifying_ when angered for real.

Another sigh sounded from the blond vampire, his shoulders sagged as his previous confidence evaporated.

He _really_ hoped that Kaname would _never_ find out.

**-o-**

She woke up with a start. Yet again.

But if every time it had happened previously the nightmare she had seen in her sleep had dissipated...this time it didn't.

She screamed.

Confused and scared, she couldn't do anything else but scream her lungs out of pure fear and panic.

There was blood. Blood everywhere; on the walls, on the floor, on the bed – the light blue sheets, the pillow and the comforter were drenched in it, her light beige nightgown was painted dark red now. She could feel warm blood on her hands, sliding down her fingers. She could feel it on her face, on her lips, even in her hair. She could _taste_ it in her mouth.

She was now sitting up, her violently trembling form curled in a corner of her bed by the wall. She was crying and screaming, unknowingly tugging at her brown hair with both hands, her eyes impossibly wide and wild with nothing but absolute dread in them.

_"…-ki…?"_

She thought she heard some noise through her now probably hoarse cries, but she was in no condition to pay it any mind.

_"Yuuki…? Yuuki!"_

There it was again, calling her persistently.

_"Yuuki!"_

Someone took her by the shoulder and she jerked violently from the sudden touch. Now cowering further against the wall and still trembling uncontrollably, the girl abruptly looked up.

And her already impossibly wide eyes widened even more. And with yet another hysterical scream tearing her by now sore throat, she jumped forward with all her might and pushed the one standing before her onto the floor. Her trembling yet surprisingly strong fingers immediately found a pale, slender neck and the brunet girl squeezed it as tightly as she only could.

And she kept squeezing.

Harder and harder. And even harder – unrelenting and putting all her strength into it.

There was fury in her now for some reason. It dominated the fear and it dominated her previous panic and shock. It was burning her insides now, followed by jealousy and bitterness and deep resentment and even slight secret hatred and betrayal.

Her fingers tightened further.

The body beneath her had long begun to struggle, trying to stop her hands from what they were doing, but all the attempts turned out to be surprisingly futile.

 _"Y-you…"_ Yuuki started hoarsely, continuing to choke the life out of her victim. _"You…it's all_ you _…It's all_ your _fault…"_ she said quietly, her eyes unblinking and still just as wild – if not more – as she gazed unseeingly into the wide, shocked eyes of her prey. _"It's all you…"_ she kept saying over and over, _"If only you hadn't…if only you…"_

She was rambling now, repeating the same group of words again and again, her fingers tightening further with each sentence and soon breaking the delicate skin of the pale neck with their unexpectedly sharp nails.

She could feel life ever so slowly start to leave the body beneath her. She could feel it get weaker with every passing second.

_Slowly…_

_Very slowly, but surely…_

And she liked it. For some inexplicable reason she didn't really care to ponder on, Yuuki found that she _truly_ liked the feeling she was getting from strangling the life out of her victim.

A dark, almost manic grin slowly spread across the brunet girl's face. She let out a low chuckle and squeezed tighter.

And tighter.

And _tighter_ , her petite form now trembling, breathing labored, eyes even wider and madder than before. She could literally _feel_ it…

_Just a few more seconds and…_

"Get the hell _off_ him, you psycho!"

The loud voice made the girl flinch violently from surprise and she stopped what she was doing before being unceremoniously torn off her prey and pushed away in a rough uncaring manner. Her back and head collided with a wall as a result, both making her even more disoriented and bringing her back to her senses.

Yuuki winced in pain, her hand cradling her now pounding head. A soft groan left her lips as she started to slowly come back to reality.

"For fuck's sake, what the hell is _wrong_ with you!?" sounded that same voice again. It was practically overflowing with rage and indignation – all directed at her, she could tell even in her current state.

Somehow, it made her involuntarily shudder. She had never heard that version of that familiar voice before. But now that she had…for some reason, it left her terrified.

The girl looked up, blinking slowly and frowning in confusion.

"Ichiru…?" Yuuki uttered quietly, never receiving any recognition from the said teen, who was busy with…

The brunet's eyes widened in surprise yet again and she called, "Zero? What's-…what are you two-…?" She was unable to finish her questions, hardly understanding what she even wanted to ask in the first place herself. She looked around the room, as though only now realizing where she was. "Eh? What…"

"How are you, nii-san? Are you okay?" came Ichiru's voice again. It was soft and genuinely worried this time. Although for a moment there Yuuki thought she heard it quiver – oddly. But she chose to dismiss it, deciding it was just her imagination. "Can you get up?"

"Yeah…" that was Zero. He gave Ichiru a small nod, for some reason holding his neck.

Yuuki's brows drew together in yet another frown.

Why was Zero's voice so hoarse? And why was he coughing? Did he catch a cold or something? And more importantly…What on earth was going on? Why were the twins in her room?

"Hey, what-" Yuuki started asking, but stopped the second Ichiru turned and laid his eyes on her.

The girl froze. Then her rigid form began to tremble involuntarily from sheer… _terror_.

But it wasn't the fact that Ichiru's normally lilac eyes were now of vivid crimson color that frightened Yuuki, no – although she had to admit that that, too, was scary. It was _the way he was looking at her_ that made the girl genuinely afraid of the younger twin. There was… _hatred_ …in those normally calm, clear eyes. Almost always twinkling with playfulness and mischief, they now were filled with nothing but icy coldness and dark contempt.

_Directed only at her…_

Yuuki gulped nervously and lowered her gaze, for some reason unable to look Ichiru in the eye.

A tense silence followed. But it was soon interrupted by Zero, who finally put Yuuki out of her misery.

"Ichiru…" Zero called a bit hoarsely still. Unusually though, his counterpart didn't show any reaction to him, so he repeated the action, his hand reaching for Ichiru's cheek, "Ichiru, look at me."

Ever so slowly and with evident discontent, Ichiru did.

"Calm down," Zero said in a soft yet firm tone. Gently, he caressed his other half's hair and, bringing their foreheads closer together, repeated, "Calm down."

"But nii-san-"

"It's okay," Zero interrupted Ichiru before he could finish protesting. "I'm alright, so…just calm down. Got it?"

Ichiru didn't answer. And it was more than clear from his expression that he was far from eager to grant his older brother's request.

But he agreed to do so with a slow nod, albeit reluctantly.

Now even more confused and curious to know what was going on than before, Yuuki watched her two adopted brothers anxiously, her gaze going from Zero to Ichiru and back. And then, as the older twin removed his hand from his neck, the brunet girl noticed something.

Brown eyes widened.

For reasons she couldn't begin to comprehend, Yuuki broke out in a cold sweat all of a sudden. Her whole body went completely rigid.

"Hey…Z-Zero… th-those marks are…" Yuuki tried to ask, curious to know, but faltered, also afraid of it.

Zero looked at her with an unfamiliar, troubled expression on his face – one that made the girl all the more uneasy about this situation she was in yet didn't quite grasp.

Silence lengthened.

Then Zero opened his mouth to speak and probably answer Yuuki's unfinished question, but Ichiru's voice sounded before the older teen could do so.

"Let's go, nii-san," the younger twin said, only now getting up from the floor and pulling Zero with him.

"Ichiru-"

"W-wait, Ichiru!" Yuuki protested vehemently, interrupting Zero. She got up as well to follow the twins. "You still haven't told me what-"

"Get the hell away from us," Ichiru said coldly, abruptly stopping in his tracks and turning to face a stunned Yuuki.

"Ichiru, cut it out! It's-"

"You keep quiet, nii-san," Ichiru replied in an unexpectedly calm tone – one that sent an unpleasant shudder down Zero's spine. Involuntarily, the older twin complied. Ichiru continued, now speaking to Yuuki, his tone even calmer, colder and all the more intimidating, "And _you_ …If you do anything to hurt my brother _again_ …trust me, Yuuki, I _will_ make you seriously regret it, and neither Cross, nor your precious Kuran…and not even _Zero_ would be able to stop me."

Ichiru didn't wait for a reply and just left, dragging a shocked Zero along with him and leaving Yuuki alone in her room, confused, trembling in fear and on the verge of tears.

"How cruel…" came another voice after some while, startling Yuuki out of her anguish-filled daze.

Her teary eyes widened, the girl looked towards her room's window to find an unexpected visitor there, sitting relaxedly on the windowsill with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. Somehow Yuuki couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy at the sight. "Shiki…sempai…?" she called uncertainly, unconsciously backing away from the maroon-haired vampire.

"Treating you so coldly even though you had no idea what you were doing…" The vampire's usually expressionless face turned sympathetic as he continued, "You poor, poor thing…"

Letting out a soft chuckle, Shiki got up from the windowsill and moved towards Yuuki, his smile back in place. Stopping only when he was directly in front of the girl, the male spoke again, "Shall I lend you a hand?"

**-o-**

"…Are you okay?" Zero asked his twin after a long while of silence and hesitation.

There was a chuckle that hardly spoke of amusement. Then Ichiru replied, "It's funny how you ask _me_ if _I_ am okay when _you_ are the one who got attacked."

Zero chose not to answer. He merely gave a small sigh and continued stroking his twin's silky silver locks comfortingly as they sat on their bed with Zero leaning casually against the wall while Ichiru was resting practically all his weight on his other half, hugging him.

Ichiru's arms tightened around his counterpart.

After some while of uncomfortable silence, Zero spoke again, "You do realize that she wasn't in her right mind…don't you?"

"I do. Got that feeling the moment I entered the room. So what?"

"So you should-"

"No, I shouldn't," Ichiru answered before Zero could finish, already knowing what his twin would ask of him. "And I sure as hell _will not_. The fact that Yuuki went temporarily crazy there doesn't make it any better. So let's just drop this subject. Because no matter what you say," Ichiru shifted his head that was resting comfortably atop Zero's chest to look his twin in the eye, his cold gaze leaving no room for protests, "you will lose, nii-san."

Zero froze. His heart skipped a beat, and then raced. His whole body went cold all of a sudden.

He knew _that_ look. And he knew _that_ expression. He…

_He had already seen them…_

He had seen them on several occasions many, many years ago – at least so it now seemed, like it had happened in a distant past. But no matter how long ago it had been, he would never forget it – he just wouldn't be _able to_ , even if he tried hard enough.

So now he undoubtedly recognized it. For it was _that_ look. The very same one that Ichiru used to give to…

"Ichiru…" Zero called quietly, his voice on the verge of trembling now.

"Yes?" the younger teen answered somewhat absently, his head back on Zero's chest and eyes closed.

"You…" Zero faltered for a moment, hesitant to continue. He put his other hand that had been resting on Ichiru's back all this time on the said teen's head and gently lifted it to look his twin in the eye, thus making the latter sit up from his comfortable position. "Ichiru, you…you won't do anything…right?" Zero finally inquired, stupidly hopeful yet reasonably doubtful.

Ichiru's eyes widened a fraction at the question as well as the tone of his counterpart's voice. He stayed silent for a few long seconds, merely looking at his brother impassively. Then a soft, loving smile slowly found its way on Ichiru's face and the teen spoke, "Do what, nii-san? I don't quite understand what you're talking about."

Uneasiness in Zero grew.

"Ichiru…" Zero uttered nervously with a hint of worried warning that his other half didn't miss.

Ichiru held his brother's gaze with his smile still in place and unwavering. Then, after some more time, he chuckled and leaned closer to the older teen to bring their foreheads together, his hands going up to cup Zero's face. "Don't worry, nii-san," Ichiru started softly, his thumbs stroking Zero's smooth cheeks tenderly in a soothing manner, "Of course I won't do anything. I would never want to make you feel sad. You know that."

"…I do," Zero replied, lowering his now thoughtful gaze.

Ichiru's smile widened. He let go of Zero's cheeks and slowly leaned down to bury his face in his counterpart's collarbone as he locked him in another gentle embrace that the older teen returned without a second thought.

Stroking his twin's silver tresses, Zero closed his eyes and rested his cheek on Ichiru's head. He breathed in his other half's familiar, calming scent and slowly relaxed into the embrace, repeating absently in a barely audible voice, "I do…"

**-o-**

Not for the first time since he had started suffering from this…well, _condition_ , if it could be called that, of his, Kaname felt like a total idiot.

Seriously, what the _hell_ was he doing standing in front of Cross's house, rooted to the spot and unable to move for the last…what, half an hour? It was either going inside, like he always did, or leaving – simple as that. Yet he could do neither.

Honestly, what in the world was _wrong_ with him…?

A derisive snort sounded in his mind in response to that question, but Kaname ignored it, choosing to concentrate on his current dilemma instead.

Really, it was just another one of his visits. Just another one of his routine visits. There was _absolutely_ nothing special about it.

Kaname's fingers tightened on the handles of a gift bag he was holding. There was another snort in his head, but he disregarded it as well.

Okay, there was nothing difficult about it, right? Right? All he had to do was just…

Before Kaname could continue his self-torture – one that the pureblood himself knew and admitted was ridiculous – and spend another thirty minutes in front of the Cross residence, the front door of the said house opened and an all too familiar form came into view. Kaname froze, tensing involuntarily.

Great. Just great. Who knew that it was actually possible for him to feel like an even bigger fool?

"Kaname," came Zero's familiar soft voice that the brunet vampire hadn't heard in what seemed like a very long time, when in fact it was only a couple of weeks that he had been absent from the academy. He had missed it. More than he had thought.

Kaname could clearly see quiet amusement in Zero's eyes, which undoubtedly heightened his embarrassment tenfold. Honestly, if the pureblood wasn't…well, himself, he would certainly be blushing like a total idiot already.

But that expression on Zero's face also made Kaname feel the familiar by now warmth in his chest for some reason, so he couldn't really complain….much, he supposed...It was undeniable though that he was still beyond mortified.

"Welcome back," was the only thing Zero said – to Kaname's relief – as he gestured for the brunet vampire to come inside the house.

Which the pureblood did without a moment's hesitation, his legs moving of their own accord before he could even think about giving them such command.

"Thank you," Kaname replied softly with a faint smile after some time. "I…uh, it has been a while, Zero-kun. How have you been?"

"Fine, like usual," the hunter replied with a light shrug of his shoulders as the two were walking towards their destination. Which somehow turned out to be the kitchen without either of them having to mention it aloud. "A bit lonely without you though, as expected."

Kaname's eyes widened. His breath hitched and he faltered in his tracks for a moment before continuing forward with difficulty.

"Is that so…" the pureblood said with a faint smile that he couldn't keep off his lips. He knew his tone was a little too happy to sound like his usual self, but he just couldn't help it.

"Mm," Zero nodded absently in response as he put the kettle on right after the two arrived at the kitchen.

A companionable silence settled over the room. Kaname watched Zero quietly as the teen continued going about his task.

"What is it?" Zero asked when his attention returned to the pureblood after some while only to find the said man still standing in the middle of the room. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. The tea is ready."

Kaname blinked, as though coming out of a daze. "Oh…right…" he uttered absently with a slight nod, mentally scolding himself for his idiotic – at least in his eyes – behavior. He was about to take a seat at the table when he remembered something.

"Zero-kun, this…" the brunet started, lifting the previously forgotten gift bag in his hand and reaching into it. He fished a small box out of it and, after looking at the newly presented object thoughtfully for a few seconds, returned his gaze to the younger teen and continued, "I, um…I bought you a souvenir. It's nothing special, just…It's just a gift. I hope you will like it."

Kaname's throat went completely dry by the time he finished speaking and he barely managed to keep his hand steady – pathetic as he knew it was – as he silently offered Zero the box. Thankfully though, the said teen didn't seem to notice his nervousness.

Zero blinked, a bit surprised. But he still took the box after only a moment's hesitation. "Thanks…" the hunter uttered absently, staring at the object in his hands in a slight daze that lasted for no more than a couple of seconds. A soft smile making its way on his lips, Zero lifted his amethyst eyes to meet Kaname's burgundy ones and continued, "Thank you, Kaname. I'm sure I will." He paused as his gaze shifted briefly to the box before turning to the brunet vampire anew. Then Zero asked, "May I?"

Kaname only managed a nod in response, not trusting himself enough to speak at the moment.

With another soft smile, Zero opened the box and carefully took out the item that was in it. And his eyes widened in awe at what he saw.

There, in his hands, the silver-haired teen was holding what was probably the most beautiful water globe he had ever seen.

Although its shape and outer design were relatively simple, like those of any other water globe, what was inside of the liquid-filled sphere took Zero's breath away.

It was a flower. A rose. A beautiful, lavender rose with leaves of deep violet color, and even though Zero knew the flower couldn't be real, it couldn't look more alive in his eyes. And the whole composition was made even more beautiful by small, somewhat silvery-white petals that lay on the bottom of the transparent sphere, along with tiny, shiny particles that somehow floated around the rose without settling down.

The silver-haired teen couldn't help but be entranced by the sight.

Kaname watched Zero's reaction nervously, his heart pounding away against his ribcage like crazy. For the umpteenth time in the last few years, the pureblood cursed himself for his inability to control this stupid thing called heart. Honestly, why did body even _need_ such an inconvenient organ?

Kaname unknowingly stopped breathing when, the next moment, Zero uttered his name.

"Y-yes?" the brunet replied, mentally cursing himself for actually stammering. His fingers involuntarily tightened on the handles of the gift bag still in his hand, his pulse raced further.

"It's beautiful," Zero said with a smile and expression that filled Kaname's chest with warmth that spread over his entire body up to the very tips of his fingers, leaving a strangely pleasant tingling sensation in its wake. "Thank you. I love it."

It was with difficulty, but Kaname still managed to reply, "That is wonderful." A smile of his own tugged at his lips – one of sincere happiness and pure relief. He continued, "I am delighted that you like it, Zero-kun."

Then Kaname remembered something else, more stupidly euphoric at these moments than ever, and asked, "And where are Yuuki and Ichiru-kun?" He knew they weren't anywhere in the house as well as Cross. Their presences told him that – or their absence, to be precise. "I have something for them as well," the brunet finished, slightly lifting the gift bag he was holding for Zero to see.

"Oh, they are…" Zero couldn't help the involuntary uneasiness he suddenly felt about the subject. He certainly hoped Kaname would miss it. "Um, Ichiru is patrolling the grounds and Yuuki…she is in the Sun Dorms."

"Oh…" That was…unusual. Not for Ichiru, but for Yuuki. She rarely stayed at the dorms. "I see…In that case-"

"Nii-san, you here?" sounded Ichiru's voice from the hallway, interrupting Kaname before he could finish his sentence. It was accompanied by the sound of a slamming door and it got louder as it got closer, "Can you switch with me? Because I swear I will _kill_ that curly-haired bastard if I-" Ichiru continued, but stopped the second he entered the kitchen and laid his eyes on Kaname. He stayed silent for a long moment, slightly taken aback, and then said with a scowl, "Oh, _you_ again."

Well, Kaname was _more_ than just used to that treatment by now. So it wasn't too hard to dismiss it.

Raising an eyebrow, the pureblood repeated, "'Curly-haired…'" But he chose not to finish Ichiru's chosen phrase.

"Not you, Kaname," Zero reassured with a fond smile and a small chuckle of amusement. He couldn't help but find the pureblood's current expression somewhat funny – no matter how neutral Kaname tried to keep it.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, nii-san," Ichiru responded with a raised eyebrow of his own, his arms folded across his chest.

Kaname decided to ignore that one too and said instead, "Thank you, Ichiru-kun. It is a pleasure to see you again too."

"Yeah, yeah. You and your stupid pureblood manners."

"I never thought my _'pureblood manners'_ , as you put it, could offend anyone."

"They don't," Ichiru gave a derisive snort. "They're just plain annoying. Just like their owner, by the way."

"Ichiru…" Zero sighed tiredly, giving his twin a _look_. One that Ichiru didn't miss – naturally. "You know it's not Kaname's fault Kaito is an ass. So come here and have a tea with us. It will calm you down a bit. Okay?"

"…" Ichiru stayed where he was at first, stubbornly refusing to move. But then he let out a resigned sigh and moved towards the table. "You may be right, nii-san, but it doesn't change the fact that _his_ presence only ruins my mood more."

"I thought you would be used to it by now, Ichiru-kun," Kaname said calmly, taking a seat at the table. He put the gift bag he was holding onto it and pushed it towards Ichiru."Here, maybe it will help to lighten your mood."

"The hell is that?" the younger twin questioned in response, eyeing the package almost warily.

"Just a couple of small presents from my trip. For you and Yuuki."

Ichiru snorted. "How thoughtful of you."

Kaname shrugged nonchalantly, replying, "I suppose it is."

"But you shouldn't have bothered." Ichiru continued, pushing the gift bag back towards the brunet vampire. "Go ahead and give whatever it is you ever so kindly bought for me to your precious little princess."

Sarcasm was more than clear in Ichiru's tone – just like every time he spoke to Kaname. But there was also something else now. Something new. And it was especially prominent in the last few words of the younger hunter's sentence.

Burgundy eyes narrowed.

Now _that_ tone Kaname didn't like. And he certainly wasn't going to tolerate it. It was one thing when Ichiru was being rude and spiteful towards him, but when it was towards _her_ …

"Ichiru-" Zero started warningly with a disapproving frown, only to be interrupted by Kaname a split second later.

"I do not appreciate your tone, Ichiru-kun. Especially if, as it sounded to me for some reason, it was meant mostly for _Yuuki_ than for me…" the pureblood said slowly and dangerously quietly, his cold narrowed gaze steady on the younger Kiryuu twin.

Which Ichiru met head on with a dark, steely look of his own, hardly intimidated by the vampire in front of him in spite of what his mixed instincts were now starting to whisper to him.

Unconsciously, Zero moved closer to his twin's side – his protectiveness never failing to show itself.

Meanwhile Kaname continued, "In which case I suggest you _calm down_ and _think well_ before you go any further."

"Oh, really?" Ichiru replied with another derisive snort and a wry smile. " _'Calm down_ and _think well'_ , huh…? Why don't you go and offer that same advice of yours to your _dear Yuuki_ , Kuran? _She_ sure as hell needs it, unlike me."

"What are you talking about?" Kaname answered with a question of his own just as alarmingly quietly and calmly as the last time.

Zero tensed involuntarily. While Ichiru remained amazingly calm.

The younger twin didn't wait long to give his reply, "What I'm talking about is that…your stupid little _toy_ ," he ignored his counterpart who called his name warningly once more, "has lost her freaking mind without her _master_. And it would be great if you went and did _something_ about that before _I_ will be forced to do it."

Garnet eyes narrowed further and flashed bright red for one dangerous moment.

Kaname opened his mouth to say something in response, but Ichiru beat him to it.

Slowly standing up, the younger Kiryuu resumed speaking, this time to his twin. "I changed my mind, nii-san. I'll return to patrolling." Hopefully, he would stumble on something to test his hunter katana on. Preferably Aidou. The idiot was always a perfect target for practice. "And you should fill _him_ in on what happened," Ichiru went on, throwing Kaname a dirty look, his face set in a scowl, "since _he_ is the one to blame for it in the first place."

Kaname rose as well, thoroughly frustrated and tired of listening to the other's nonsense by now. "What _are_ you talking about? I demand an explanation, Ichiru-kun."

"An explanation, huh?" Ichiru said, regarding the pureblood coldly. He stopped near his twin. "How about _that_ ," Ichiru continued as he raised his hand to pull the collar of Zero's light gray turtleneck sweater down, "for an explanation?"

And garnet eyes widened in shock and utter horror at the sight that greeted them.

Zero quickly pulled his collar back up, but Kaname still remembered what he had seen no more than a second before all too clearly.

He was lost for words, his mind numb and unable to come up with any explanation of what exactly it was that was going on whatsoever.

One idea did occur to him however. But he didn't get to voice it just yet.

"I'm out of here." Ichiru said, ignoring his counterpart's soft call of his name. " _You_ give that idiot the explanation he wants so much, nii-san." And he left.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. It lingered for some while until Kaname's quiet, somewhat strained voice finally shattered it.

"Zero-kun…" the pureblood started, moving towards the silver-haired teen hesitantly. Before he could realize what he was doing, his hand was moving up to Zero's neck. He had to take another look – a closer look.

But he didn't get to, as Zero's involuntary reaction to his action immediately stopped his movements altogether.

Kaname's eyes widened as he caught himself, instantly regretting his unintentional thoughtlessness. "I apologize," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay," Zero interrupted the other with a brief shake of the head. "Sorry." He gave Kaname an apologetic smile and then pulled the collar of his sweater down himself, albeit hesitantly.

And silence reigned once more.

Kaname just stared.

And stared.

And stared some more still.

And as he did so, intense anger Kaname hadn't known before welled up within him.

His garnet eyes darkened as his fingers brushed the bruised skin of Zero's neck carefully.

And he mentally cursed himself for his stupidity the next moment.

"I am sorry," the pureblood apologized again after noticing the way Zero tensed at his touch. His hand retreated a bit, he asked, "May I?"

It took Zero a few moments to give Kaname a slow nod in response.

Cold fingers returned to his neck then. And probably for the first time in many years Zero couldn't help but be somewhat conscious of how incredibly gentle and careful they were.

But he pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now, choosing to focus on other things – something Kaname only helped him with.

"Was it him?" came from the pureblood after a long while of tense silence.

Zero blinked, his eyes widening and brows rising in confusion. A faint frown came to his features as he tilted his head slightly to side and asked, "'Him'…?"

"The one…you told me about. The one who takes over Shiki's body from time to time."

Zero's initial response was a soft _'Oh…'_ as realization dawned on him. He found himself wishing that Kaname's conjecture wasn't as far from the truth as it actually was. At least it wouldn't have been so weird for _that_ person to do something like that – the vibe Zero had been getting from him whenever he had been around had told the young hunter that the man could do things far worse.

"No…" the teen started with difficulty, his gaze lowering. "He hasn't appeared in a while." Or so Zero believed.

 _'But then who in the world would-'_ Kaname halted in his thoughts as Ichiru's words came back to him, hitting him hard. He froze.

It was only after another while of heavy silence that Kaname finally managed to push the words out of his suddenly dry throat.

"Zero-kun, when your brother-… What exactly was Ichiru-kun talking about…?"

Zero bit his lip unconsciously, still avoiding the other's attentive gaze that he could practically _feel_ trained on him.

The silence between the two lengthened.

Then, after what seemed like a very long time, Zero finally met Kaname's apprehensive burgundy eyes with his own uncertain and worried lavender ones.

"Kaname, I…I think there is something going on with Yuuki…"


	18. Conflicted Minds

 

"Ironic, isn't it?" reached Kaname's ears as he entered the lounge room of the Moon Dormitory. It was empty with the only exception of Shiki who was sitting on the bottom of the stairs, one knee up, chin propped on one hand as he stared absently at a box of pocky in his other hand.

Burgundy eyes narrowed, darkening.

Shiki continued, "The one last thing hermother did to save her actually ends up torturing her like it does now…" He lifted his eyes and a slow smile spread across his perfect face as he locked gazes with Kaname. "Life can be so cruel...Don't you think so, dear _'nephew'_?"

"What have you done to her?" Kaname asked darkly in response, his tone as cold as his gaze. "What _are_ you doing to her?"

"Oh? So you think it's _my_ fault now?" Shiki paused to let out a hearty chuckle. To Kaname's ears it couldn't sound more wrong coming from the unsuspecting maroon-haired vampire before him. "What a poor opinion you have of your own flesh and blood, Kaname." He tilted his head slightly to the side and placed a hand on his chest, a fake pained expression appearing on his face as he continued, "You are hurting my feelings, you know."

Kaname couldn't help but scowl darkly in distaste at the dramatic act the other was putting on. As usual, any kind of contact with this particular individual evoked nothing but strong aversion in him.

"Now, stop making such a face, Kaname. It is so unbecoming to a pureblood of your standing. Besides," Shiki paused to pull a pocky stick out of the box. Staring at it blankly, he continued speaking distractedly, "it's not like _I_ did something to hurt the girl. After all, _you_ succeed at it just fine all on your own."

"You have become even more delusional than before," Kaname answered with a snort of contempt. "I never did anything to hurt Yuuki. And I _never_ will."

"Right," Shiki scoffed. "Keep believing in _that_ , why don't you? It will be so much fun for me to see where it will leave you."

"What are you implying?" Kaname growled out, quickly running out of patience with the other. The man _did_ always know how to annoy him.

" _Implying_ …?" Another scoff. "I would hardly call that _'implying'_. You are just too…well, _distracted_ …to see what I am talking about." The possessed vampire let out a chuckle, and then continued, "Not that I cannot relate to that, but still…You really _are_ losing your touch, Kaname."

The pureblood offered no reply. Although it wasn't like Shiki needed one anyway. Not minding his companion, he returned his attention to the pink-colored pocky stick between his fingers, looking it over with something akin to suspicion in his icy eyes. Kaname would have been genuinely amused had it been any other person sitting in front of him.

Shiki took a careful – if not cautious – bite of the candy, only to cringe at the taste in the end.

"Too sweet," he mumbled to himself. "How can one eat so much of this?"

The maroon-haired vampire's rhetorical question was followed by silence.

But soon the said male resumed speaking.

"So, what now, dear nephew?" Shiki asked, raising his head and returning his gaze to Kaname. "What _are_ you going to do about _this_ newfound problem of yours?" He paused to let the other reply, but Kaname remained silent. Unaffected, Shiki continued, "For if you don't do anything, she _will_ keep trying…And then _someone else_ will take care of the matter in your stead."

Another few seconds of silence, after which Shiki gave a snort of laughter. "Won't blame them for it though. You know, that younger one does have a right to be so angry with you after all. Oh, the way he treated you earlier…" A chuckle of mocking amusement escaped the possessed noble's lips.

Kaname's eyes widened. _How did he-_

"Then again, it's not like you aren't used to such an attitude," came from Shiki before the pureblood could finish the question in his head. The wide grin the maroon-haired vampire had on his face as he spoke made Kaname's blood boil with anger.

Meanwhile the other continued.

"Honestly, what are you so meek for, Kaname? A powerful, almighty pureblood like you…behaving like an innocent _boy_ when it comes to some _baby_ _hunter_ …" Shiki paused to let out a scoff. "Tell me, is your fear of rejection _that_ strong?"

Kaname ignored the last few sentences, choosing to focus on one question that was bugging him insistently instead. "How did you know that Ichiru-kun-"

"That he was especially harsh with poor little you this time around? Why, because I was _nearby_ , of course." Shiki's tone and smile couldn't be more condescending as he said that. "What a dumb question to ask."

_'But-'_

Once again, Shiki answered before Kaname could finish the thought.

"Oh, that's right…I forgot to mention that I found a way to escape our little hunter's radar." Even if for only a short while. Those senses of the boy's were so good they could be troublesome on _certain_ occasions. "So _now_ I can sneak up on him too if I want to. Now, isn't _that_ just splendid?" He let out an almost hearty chuckle.

Kaname's eyes narrowed, his hands involuntarily clenching into tight fists.

The temperature in the room dropped noticeably, but the younger vampire paid it no mind.

"I wonder what kind of reaction I will get from him to that," Shiki said almost absently, as if to no one in particular. Then his gaze fixed on Kaname anew and he continued with a smirk, "Might as well try it out sometime next week. Or the one after that. Or any day I am bored, really…" he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "But then again…There is also my poor little _niece_ who desperately needs her _real_ family's support…So _maybe_ I will go ahead and help _her_ first…"

The room got colder again, but Shiki remained unfazed. His smirk widening, he tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, "What do you think, Kaname? Which one do you think I will choose? Which one _don't_ you want me to get close to the most…?"

Kaname didn't say a word in response. And yet…

"Oh…" came from Shiki next in a tone that couldn't sound more mocking, "And there I have my answer…"

**-o-**

Kaname let out a small sigh as he picked up a letter opener from his desk and, after staring at it distractedly for a few long moments, made a deep cut in the palm of his hand.

It hurt. And the wound stung as he curled his fingers into a fist to help the blood get into a glass vessel he was using to collect it faster, but Kaname barely even winced, too lost in his thoughts.

It had been a few days since his return and since that brief yet extremely unpleasant encounterwith his… _relative_ …had taken place. And in spite of that, he _still_ hadn't done anything. Not about Yuuki…Not about Rido…Not about…anything, really.

And he was _still_ doing _nothing_. So unlike his usual, _normal_ self…

Another sigh, this time heavier.

Maybe he really _was_ 'losing his touch' after all…?

Kaname's features contorted in distaste the moment his deranged _uncle's_ words came back to him. He opened his now healed palm and dug the letter opener deep into it again before repeating the action of curling his slender fingers into a fist to squeeze out more blood.

He truly _loathed_ to even _consider_ admitting it, but…

It really _was_ ruining him, wasn't it…?

It _had_ already, in fact.

His plans, his desires, his determination, his priorities, his way of _feeling_ and his very perception of all those _feelings_ along with many other things… His whole former self had been destroyed by it, and yet Kaname couldn't decide whether it was really such a bad thing – as he knew he _should_ think of it – or not.

Because while this new… _feeling_ , he supposed…was unknown and rather frightening for him, it also was undeniable that it brought him what could only be described as inner joy… And the fact that it actually had made him feel ashamed of himself just a few days back didn't change that simple fact.

He knew it was selfish and irresponsible of him to make that silent choice – however unwittingly. He knew that by doing that he had failed those he thought of and loved as his real parents…And even more so he knew that by doing that he betrayed one of his closest and most beloved persons in the entire world – the one he now _truly_ thought of and loved as his sweet little sister…

And that was wrong. And shameful, despicable and simply unforgivable.

Yet Kaname couldn't find it in himself to hate or even deny that _feeling_ that made him act the way he had and did now. It was already there – it _had been_ for quite some time now – with its roots deep within him and Kaname seriously doubted that he would ever want or be able to get rid of it even if he could help it.

The vessel was almost full now, the brunet realized. But he thought he needed to add just a bit more to be safe…

He cut his palm yet again and repeated all the other actions that should follow the previous one. Then, in no longer than a few drops' time, the small glass object was filled with pure vampire blood to the brim. Kaname took its top and screwed it back on the vessel.

Now he was good to go. But first…

Burgundy eyes turned to the still damp from blood palm of their owner.

He needed to clean up.

**-o-**

Zero knocked lightly at the door of Yuuki's dorm room and waited. There was no response nor movement at first, but then the brunet girl's slightly muffled voice sounded and after a few more moments she appeared from behind the door herself.

"Oh…" Brown eyes widened. "Zero…hi…" Unconsciously, Yuuki lowered her gaze, unable to look the other teen in the eye for some reason. "What is it?"

"Nothing…I just came to talk to you is all." Even without seeing her adopted brother's face, Yuuki could tell he had a small, gentle smile on his lips – one that was meant to soothe her. It always did, actually. Under normal circumstances. Now, however…

Yuuki sneaked a quick peek at Zero's neck. Just like the last few days, it was covered by a sweater's collar again.

The familiar by now feeling of guilt returned anew to plague the girl.

"How are you?" Zero asked then, oblivious to the other's current inner torment.

"Fine…" Yuuki replied quietly, her gaze anywhere but on her adopted brother and her fingers clutching the hem of her skirt nervously. Her discomfort couldn't be more evident.

And Zero didn't fail to notice it.

A sigh reached the brunet girl's ears. Then, to her surprise, a hand was on her head, warm and gentle. Brown eyes wide with confusion, Yuuki looked up. She was unable to say anything though and merely stared at Zero, blinking stupidly.

Zero let out another sigh.

"You _are_ an idiot, you know," Zero said at long last. "The hell are you doing holed up in here? You have your own home. Stop beating yourself up over some ridiculous accident and come back."

Yuuki blinked again, her eyes widening more. She felt an all too familiar sting of tears then and, unable to hold back, she broke down right in front of Zero. She had no idea what in the world had come over her to make her cry all of a sudden, but it didn't matter. She couldn't stop now anyway no matter how hard she tried. Especially so after Zero pulled her into a warm embrace and patted her head comfortingly the next moment.

"Shh, it's alright," the silver-haired teen started softly. "You're alright, everything is fine."

"It's not," Yuuki sobbed out, her hunched shoulders trembling. "Ichiru hates me now. And you do too…"

Yuuki could hear an unmistakable smile in the other's voice as he replied, "I don't, stupid. And neither does Ichiru."

"He does. I know he does."

"He _doesn't_ ," Zero insisted with a fond smile on his face. "He was just…scared back then. He didn't _really_ mean what he said." Or so Zero _truly_ hoped and wanted to believe.

 _'Lies,'_ Yuuki thought to herself. She knew she was right. She knew Ichiru did hate her now. She had felt it with her _skin_ that night…

But she chose not to voice her thoughts.

"He has cooled off already, so it's alright," Zero continued. Then he gave a small snort of laughter before adding, "He still refuses to apologize though. But just give him some more time. He'll get there."

Yuuki couldn't help chuckling through her sobs at that. "Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen." It was _Ichiru_ , for God's sake. And Ichiru did _not_ apologize. Never. And not to anyone – at least not to those who wasn't Zero.

The silver-haired hunter gave a hearty chuckle before replying, "Hey, don't give up on him just yet. You know he is not as mean as he may come across."

"Sometimes he is," came Yuuki's muffled voice again. Sniffing, the girl freed herself from Zero's embrace and, finally looking up at the older teen, she added, "No, scratch that. He _is_ as mean as he _'may'_ come across. He is a bully." And a very evil one at that.

Zero let out an amused chuckle. Yuuki's expression was just priceless. "Is he now?"

He received a firm nod in response, which only amused him further.

"I see," Zero said with another small chuckle and a fond smile playing on his lips.

A companionable silence followed as Yuuki wiped away her tears before giving Zero a small, almost sheepish smile of her own in response.

After a few more moments, the silver-haired teen spoke again, "You okay?"

"Mm," Yuuki nodded in reply. "Thanks, Zero. I..." she started, but faltered and lowered her head, suddenly discouraged and uncertain all over again. "Thanks."

A small sigh came from Zero. He reached up and placed his hand on Yuuki's head once more in another attempt to comfort the girl.

Strangely enough, it actually worked. Although Zero had no way of knowing that.

"There's one of your favorite cakes waiting for you in the refrigerator," Zero started, smiling when he saw the brunet girl perk up with her brown eyes lighting up noticeably. "And Ichiru and I won't be at home for the rest of the day, so go ahead and help yourself to some of it. _Or_ ," the young hunter's tone and smile turned teasing then, "to all of it, like you always do."

"I don't!" Yuuki protested vehemently, her cheeks puffing up comically.

Zero let out another chuckle. "If you say so."

"I _don't_!"

"Okay, okay, I got it already," Zero conceded with an amused smile never leaving his features.

Yuuki could see that the other was still making fun of her in his head, but she decided to drop the subject and asked instead, "Are you two going somewhere?"

"Yeah. On a mission."

"Oh…I see…" Yuuki lowered her gaze thoughtfully. She couldn't help worrying every time the twins left for their hunter missions. Even she knew they were dangerous no matter how skilled one was.

Nevertheless, the girl tried to give Zero an encouraging smile as she said, "Be careful, Zero. And come back sooner, okay?"

"Mm," the silver-haired teen nodded with a soft, grateful smile on his lips. "Don't worry about us, we will be fine."

"Yeah, I know…" _But still…_

"I have to go now. Will you be okay on your own?" He still was a bit concerned.

"Yeah, don't worry about me." Yuuki answered, this time in a much more cheerful voice. Then, with a warm smile, she added, "I'll see you later, Zero."

The silver-haired teen gave another beautiful smile before replying, "Yeah…Later." And he went his way, leaving Yuuki to her own devices.

Zero was ready to join his brother who he knew was getting a bit impatient by now – Ichiru did dislike to be kept waiting after all. A childish trait for someone with his personality, but Zero still couldn't help finding it somewhat endearing.

Before he could set off for the academy's main gates however, the silver-haired teen caught sight of someone he least expected to meet at this time of the day – and at the Day Class girls' dorms of all places too.

"Kaname?" Zero uttered the name, stopping in his tracks for one bewildered second before moving forward and towards the pureblood vampire anew. "What are you doing here?" But then the young hunter remembered where he was and it dawned on him. Of course. It had been a stupid question to ask. The answer was obvious after all. "Came to visit Yuuki?"

 _'Not quite,'_ was what immediately sounded in Kaname's mind. But he chose to keep it to himself and merely gave Zero his usual gentle smile and replied instead, "Yes. And what about you, Zero-kun? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. On a mission. With Ichiru."

Kaname's smile faltered slightly. "I see…When will the two of you be back?"

"This evening. So I'll see you again at dinner tonight," Zero said, but then asked to make sure, "You _are_ coming, right?" It was something like a tradition by now, so Zero naturally assumed that Kaname would be joining them. But who knew, maybe the pureblood was busy this time around? These past days he had seemed that way after all. "I'm going to cook some of your favorites tonight."

And Kaname's smile returned, his burgundy eyes lighting up almost imperceptibly. With a soft chuckle, the pureblood said, "Yes, I am coming. How can I let your efforts go to waste?"

"Thanks," Zero answered with a chuckle of his own. He was about to bid his farewell and get going – he knew Ichiru was very well running out of patience already, he could almost feel it with his own skin. But then a thought crossed his mind all of a sudden and Zero added, "Oh, and don't forget to tell _Yuuki_ that youwill be dining with us tonight, okay?"

Kaname's brows drew together in a mild frown as their owner tilted his head slightly to the side for a few seconds of contemplation. Then the brunet asked, "Is it just me or you do want to use me as some kind of…um, _bait_ , Zero-kun?"

"It's not just you," the hunter replied without any hesitation, his smile never faltering.

"Now I am hurt."

Zero couldn't hold back a hearty chuckle at the mock pout that made its way on Kaname's features. Strangely enough, it actually looked sort of _endearing_ to him. "Well, you do make a nice bait. And don't you even try to pretend that you don't already know that yourself."

Kaname certainly did. But that was actually the first time he wasn't repulsed to be used in such a way. _And_ the first time it was done for such an innocent purpose without any kind of evil intention behind it.

The pureblood let out a chuckle. "It's at times like this that I truly realize that you and Ichiru-kun _are_ twins after all."

"Oh? Our appearance isn't enough to prove that?"

Kaname's amused smile turned indulgent as he spoke next, "The two of you are completely different, Zero-kun."

Amethyst eyes widened a fraction. Zero didn't know why, but for some reason an unfamiliar to him kind of warmth spread in his chest at the brunet vampire's expression.

It perplexed him, that warmth, and he was curious about it, but soon it faded away, so Zero decided to dismiss it – at least for now.

Instead, smiling softly, the silver-haired teen replied, "When we were very little even our parents couldn't tell us apart sometimes. You should've seen us back then."

Kaname had. Just once, a long time ago, but he had seen the twins when they had been only kids. Although he was the only one who knew that little detail of his life.

So he replied, "I wish I had." And he really did. He wished he had seen more of Zero at that age.

A companionable silence followed.

But then Kaname remembered something – at long last. The reason he had been looking for Zero…Or should he say 'excuse'?

"Zero-kun, here," the brunet started, diving into a pocket of his white pants to retrieve a small glass vessel filled with dark-red liquid. "I believe it would be better if I give this to you now, just as a precaution."

"Oh…" was all that left Zero's mouth as he automatically accepted the vessel. He gave it a long, thoughtful look, then returned his gaze to the pureblood. "Thank you, Kaname," he added with a small, a bit uneasy smile. Grateful as he was, Zero still felt positively uncomfortable about the situation. But if it did put Kaname's mind at ease…

Then Zero remembered something. A certain conversation he had had some time ago with one Ichijou Takuma.

He gave the small glass object in his hand another long, contemplative look, this one with a hint of doubt in it.

After a few hesitant moments, he looked up. "Listen, Kaname, there is something I…" Zero tried to start a conversation that had been on his mind for some time now. But as he continued looking at the brunet vampire before him, he faltered.

A faint frown marred Kaname's handsome features. He already parted his lips to ask what was wrong when another soft, beautiful smile spread over Zero's face and, shaking his head lightly, the younger teen said, "No, never mind…I'll be going now. Ichiru is waiting."

He was about to turn and walk away, but Kaname's voice that sounded next stopped him.

"Shall I…" the pureblood started hesitantly, feeling somewhat anxious all of a sudden. After a few uneasy seconds, he spoke again, "Shall I send someone with you?"

Zero's brows rose. "You mean one of your vamps?"

Kaname nodded.

"Going on a hunt."

Another nod.

"With me and Ichiru."

And another nod.

Zero blinked. Then he chuckled.

Kaname's brows furrowed for a moment at the clear amusement in the other's amethyst orbs.

"You do realize that what you are suggesting to me right now is kind of insulting to any hunter, right?" And even saying that, Zero couldn't help the fond smile that came to his lips.

Garnet eyes widened in realization. _'Oh…'_

He hadn't really looked at his proposal from that angle. "I…suppose I do." He did _now_ , anyway. And he was internally kicking himself for his _endless_ – albeit uncharacteristic – stupidity _yet again_. "I'm sorry, Zero-kun. I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay," Zero interrupted the pureblood before he could say anything further. His fond smile grew some more and he added, "I know you meant well. Thank you, Kaname. Really." _For everything…_

Kaname didn't say anything but only gave a small nod in response, smiling warmly.

"I'm off then," Zero said next, turning to leave. "See you later, Kaname."

"Of course," the brunet replied, "I look forward to it, Zero-kun."

And with one last nod and a smile, the hunter left.

**-o-**

For some reason that he couldn't even begin to comprehend, Zero had a really bad feeling about his current surroundings.

He knew he was alone – his hunter senses told him that. And yet he felt as though…

He felt as though they were lying to him, as though they were mistaken for probably the first time in his life, as though there _was_ someone out there, slowly circling around him, but he just couldn't catch sight them. And it made him feel _extremely_ uneasy and way too vulnerable for his liking. Not to mention gave him the creeps.

And the fact that he was all alone in this dark alleyway, with no idea whatsoever as to where his other half was, hardly helped to ease his building anxiety.

He _really_ needed to hurry up and get this mission over and done with, find Ichiru and-

Zero stopped dead in his tracks, his hand was on his Bloody Rose in an instant. He had found him, the last one. But…

Silver eyebrows drew together in a puzzled frown.

It wasn't that Level E vampire who was the reason for Zero's uneasiness. He could tell. Which meant that…

_There was someone else. But…_

_'Where…?'_

Before Zero could ponder on the matter further, his attention was captured by a quick movement to his right. He tried to see the source of it, but it was too dark for his eyes to discern much.

Zero's grip on his gun involuntarily tightened. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he moved forward and into the shadows to pursue his target. Which he caught sight of soon enough, but before he could take aim and shoot, the vampire disappeared.

The teen still sensed him though, so he could tell where he needed to go in order to find him. And so he set off.

After turning a number of corners, Zero finally saw the silhouette of the one he was chasing. However, once again, the Level E slipped away from view by entering one of the abandoned buildings.

Zero followed. His hunter instincts told him to go to the upper floors and he did, finding his prey in one of the many rooms on the top floor. He aimed and took a shot at the vampire, but missed. Then he tried a second time, and a third, but none of those attempts was successful.

Zero's suspicion grew.

Something was amiss. It didn't feel right. That _Level E_ didn't feel right. His movements were too fluid and precise, he seemed to _know_ what he was doing and he didn't look crazed _at all_ in spite of his glowing red eyes and wildly disheveled appearance.

_How was it possible…?_

Before Zero could try again, the vampire ran to the other side of the room and jumped out of a broken window, leaving the silver-haired teen's sight once more.

Cursing under his breath, Zero hurried towards the window, only to see the Level E disappear around the corner of another building. Immediately, Zero turned around and headed out of the room and down the stairs. Guided by his hunter senses, he ran out of the building and after the vampire. He didn't see his target, but it didn't matter – he could tell where the other was anyway.

So he kept running, only occasionally stopping to make sure that he was going the right way.

He was getting closer – slowly but surely. Just a bit more and…

Abruptly, Zero stopped, his amethyst eyes widening.

He had found the Level E, alright. He was inside another abandoned house. And not only him, but also…

_'Ichiru…'_

His twin was there. He knew for sure. Ichiru's aura was the most familiar to him and he would never mistake it for anyone else's.

So Zero moved forward and entered the building without a second thought – even if he really, _really_ didn't want to. Somehow, the place sent cold shivers down his spine.

But he disregarded his uneasiness and kept going, set on completing his mission, finding his counterpart and finally heading back home – the sooner the better.

The teen came to a halt somewhere on the third floor. He looked around, but finding no one in the long, wide hallway, he slowly proceeded to check the rooms. His muscles involuntarily tensed, his fingers tightened around his gun.

After what seemed like a very long while, Zero found what he was looking for.

Or so he thought. Because what he saw next definitely wasn't what he had expected to see...

Lavender eyes widened in surprise. "Kaname?" _What in the world…_

Zero was about to move forward, but he stopped dead in his tracks the next second.

 _'No,'_ the teen thought, _'wrong.'_ It wasn't him. It wasn't Kaname. He did look like him – a lot, especially in the dark. But it definitely wasn't him. He didn't… _feel_ like him too…not in the slightest.

Zero's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he asked quietly next.

There was a low chuckle. Then a voice sounded. It was unfamiliar to him without a doubt, but for some reason Zero felt as though he had already heard it somewhere before...

"It has been a while, hasn't it…? Little hunter…"

**-o-**

He had been in the greatest of moods when he had only arrived at the Cross residence earlier in the evening – he had been secretly looking forward to that particular part of his day so much, after all.

Zero still hadn't returned when he had come, but Kaname could wait. And Yuuki had been there to keep him company too, so he had been alright.

But after some time he had started to feel uneasy.

After some more time that uneasiness turned to worry.

And by now that worry had morphed into a full-blown quiet panic.

He _knew_ he should have sent someone to follow them. So what if Zero would have sensed them? They would have thought of something. For their own sake, they would have come up with some excuse – and a _very_ plausible one at that, if they didn't want to face one of his punishments.

Or better yet, he should have gone after the two himself – they wouldn't have even noticed him, not even Zero. That way the twins would have returned already, Zero would have been safely at home and Kaname himself wouldn't have had to go through… _this_ …

How could he have been so careless? How _could_ he have let his guard down just like that…? Just because Shiki was quietly going about his business in the Moon Dormitory under his supervision didn't mean that the ones Kaname cared about were safe. His 'uncle' could always find another way to get to them – he wasn't an ordinary vampire, after all. Kaname knew that. He knew that all too well. So _why_ on earth hadn't he taken it all into consideration and just…

_Because he hadn't thought that the other was strong enough to take any action already…He had been too naïve…_

_'Where are they…?'_ kept going through the pureblood's mind.

What had happened to them? To _him_ …? What _was_ happening to him at this very instant…? Was he alright? Was he unhurt? Was he-

"Kaname," one Ichijou Takuma's concerned voice brought the pureblood back from his agitated thoughts, "please calm down. I am certain everything is alright. They are just running a bit late. There is no reason to get so worried over such a trivial thing."

Burning crimson eyes made the blond vampire's form go completely rigid as they turned their attention to him the next second. There was an impossibly loud crack followed by the sound of shattering glass that came from behind Ichijou. The blond wasn't sure what exactly it was that got broken, but he hardly cared either way, simply glad that it wasn't his head.

An oppressive silence descended over the room for what felt like an eternity as those vivid, blood-filled orbs continued to regard him darkly. The noble was unable to breathe – he was too scared to. But then, at long last…

Kaname turned away from his childhood friend with a low growl, violent red leaving burgundy eyes to let them return to their original color. It was only then that Ichijou actually resumed breathing properly – more or less so.

After another minute of tense silence, the blond vampire risked speaking up again.

"My apologies, Kaname-sama," Ichijou said with a stiff bow before continuing, "I just don't see why anyone would-"

"It's not _just_ anyone, Takuma…"

A faint frown creased the noble's forehead for one confused moment. Then it dawned on him and his emerald eyes widened in disbelief.

"You don't mean-"

Kaname did. The look on his face told the noble that.

Still, Ichijou _really_ wanted to be optimistic, even if the hope in him was slowly but surely dying. "You don't know that for sure…" He tried to offer a reassuring smile, but failed miserably. Not that it would have helped Kaname's case anyway.

"I do know," the pureblood said without a hint of doubt in his voice. He _did_ know. He felt it with every single fiber of his being.

"But…why would he…?" Ichijou trailed off, unable to finish his question. Guilt-filled garnet eyes prevented him from doing that.

"You know _why_ , Takuma…better than anyone else…"

The noble didn't say anything. He couldn't.

The tense silence returned, now more unpleasant than ever.

Once again, it was the younger vampire who nervously broke it, "Does Headmaster Cross know where they were sent?"

"No," the brunet replied quietly, his fingers curling into a tight fist, "He said Zero-kun and Ichiru-kun never tell him any details about their missions."

Ichijou waited a couple of tense seconds before asking apprehensively, "What are you going to do?"

For one very long moment there was no response from the pureblood. Then, turning his gaze towards the window, Kaname said, "I wish to be left alone."

Ichijou opened his mouth to offer something in reply, but then thought the better of it and kept quiet. He stayed where he was for a few moments, uncertain, but then wordlessly gave a small bow and left the room.

Kaname stood staring somewhere into the distance unblinkingly for a long minute.

Then he closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. His clenched fist uncurled and his body slowly began to relax.

And the next moment he dissolved into a flock of tiny black bats that flew out of the room's window and away from the Cross Academy.


	19. Cold Slumber

 

_There was nothing but numb, empty darkness around him._

_He couldn't move a single muscle in his impossibly heavy and unbearably tired for some reason body._

_He couldn't see anything because, somehow, he couldn't open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. He actually doubted he could breathe properly, but strangely enough, it wasn't the most unsettling thing to him at the moment._

_He couldn't hear anything and he couldn't_ feel _anything with any part of his body, which made the whole situation that much more disturbing and, if he was honest with himself, scarier for him._

_He didn't know what was going on and how much time he had spent in his current condition. He wasn't even certain whether he was awake or not. But one thing he knew for sure – something that never failed to bring undeniable comfort to him. And that something was the simple fact that…_

His brother was with him...

 _Ichiru could sense him, he could sense his warm presence right by his side, enfolding him protectively like it_ always _did at Zero's unconscious will._

 _It was actually the only thing Ichiru_ could _sense at all. And he was thankful for that. But…_

Something was wrong.

_Something was bothering his other half, causing him deep distress and quiet panic._

_Even in his current condition, Ichiru could tell – he could always tell when it came to Zero, for he felt his twin on a level no one else did or would ever be able to._

_What exactly was causing his counterpart so much anguish, however, Ichiru didn't-_

_Then he felt it. An unpleasant, slowly –_ painfully slowly _– spreading coldness. He didn't know where it had come from or what it meant. But he hardly cared anyway, because the only thing that mattered was the fact that…_

His twin was agitated terribly by it, afraid of it – bordering on terrified.

 _Why, Ichiru didn't know. But that, too, didn't matter. All he needed to know was that it made his other half too_ _distressed for his liking, and everything else was nothing but unimportant details. Ichiru already knew what he had to do even without those. But before that…_

 _He needed to_ wake up.

**-o-**

"Ichiru…" Zero breathed out in a barely audible voice as he reached out to brush his counterpart's cheek carefully. The moment he touched Ichiru's skin, however, he went rigid, his amethyst eyes widening in horror.

_It was so cold…_

His hands now trembling, Zero cupped Ichiru's cheeks tentatively, hoping that what he had felt but a mere second ago was nothing more than his nervous mind playing tricks on him.

Alas, his hopes were crushed in an instant.

_So cold…_

"Ichiru…!" Zero tried again, his voice now louder with increasing worry and fear. But just like the last time, no response followed.

_So cold and pale and…lifeless…_

Ichiru wasn't like that – he _couldn't_ be. No matter what others thought of him and in spite of his character, Ichiru was always… _warm_. He was warm and alive and full of energy – albeit a lazy kind of one – and mischievousness. He wasn't this…cold and lifelessly still soundlessly breathing _frozen corpse_...

"Ichiru…" Zero called yet again, unconsciously stroking his other half's cheeks with his thumbs before looking over Ichiru's bound with some weird dark substance form. For a moment there, he actually thought it was somewhat _alive_. And it was then that he realized he must be really losing it.

Zero's worried gaze returned to Ichiru's face. Then, slowly, his hands slid down from Ichiru's cheeks to rest on his neck. And Zero _listened_.

He didn't realize he had stopped breathing until he exhaled shakily after a few unbearably long moments. He almost felt light-headed from an immediate rush of relief that came the moment he felt steady – albeit a bit too slow for his liking – beats.

"It is extremely rude to ignore someone like that, little hunter," came a voice from behind, still as foreign as before, but the manner and the tone it spoke in couldn't seem more familiar – and _not_ in a nice way. Zero already had a sneaking suspicion as to where he had heard it before, but he couldn't be sure. "Any other vampire of my standing would be greatly offended when met with such disrespectful treatment."

The words were answered with silence. Zero never even shifted his attention from Ichiru, only continuing to stare at his twin unwaveringly.

The silence lengthened. Then a deep sigh came.

"You shouldn't worry so much, little hunter," the dark-haired pureblood – and Zero could tell for sure that the man _was_ one – said as he shifted behind him. "He is merely asleep."

It was only then that Zero turned his gaze to the brunet male, regarding him with a suspicious sidelong look. "Why won't he wake up then?"

The pureblood made himself comfortable on one of the chairs behind a table that Zero only now noticed was in the dark room. A slow smirk spread over the man's flawless face as he gave his languid reply, "Why, because _I_ wouldn't let him, of course…"

"And why wouldn't you?"

"Because it would be troublesome if he were awake. _And_ I would have no leverage that way, wouldn't you agree?" His expression and tone turned condescending then. "Honestly, why all these meaningless questions? You are a smart boy. You already know all the answers."

There was a long moment of silence before Zero spoke again, "Why are we here?"

"Why do you think?" the other replied, tilting his head slightly to the side with a playful smirk on his lips.

Zero took a few seconds to regard the brunet vampire thoughtfully before offering his opinion, "For your amusement." Because that was probably the only reason the man kept visiting him from time to time. Or such was the impression he gave, at the very least. Like a bored child that just wanted to have some fun by pushing the buttons of the people around him. He actually reminded Zero of Ichiru a bit in that regard. But while Zero found that… _trait_ of his twin's somewhat endearing, he couldn't say the same about the man before him.

The brunet vampire threw his head back and let out an almost hearty laugh in response.

Then, having calmed down, he spoke again after a few more moments, "See? You don't need to ask anything!" He got up, his movements swift but remarkably graceful. For some unknown to Zero reason, the man looked extremely pleased with himself as, spreading his arms in a dramatic manner, he continued, "As I have said, you already know all the answers, little hunter. However…" The pureblood moved closer to him, and it was only then that Zero fully turned to face him, instinctively shielding Ichiru with his body, his hand already resting on his Bloody Rose gun.

Unfazed – rather amused, actually – by Zero's obvious wariness of him, the dark-haired pureblood only chuckled before resuming speaking, "There is that one answer you cannot just guess with that sharp mind of yours, and I have been denying it to you for quite some time now…"

The man was a little less than a meter away from Zero when he stopped in his tracks. It was only then that the hunter noticed the other's eyes were different in color – one garnet, and one blue. He couldn't see that from a distance before, as it was too dark, but now, up-close, that little detail was hard to miss. For a second there, the teen couldn't help but be somewhat transfixed by those unusual eyes.

Dark merriment never leaving him, the vampire asked, "Wouldn't you just _love_ to _finally_ find out?"

There was a very long moment of tense silence as Zero regarded the one before him uncertainly.

Then he asked, "Who _are_ you?"

The vampire's smile widened. For some reason, Zero couldn't help the random thought that it was probably somehow naturally dark, that smile.

"Kuran Rido," came the pureblood's answer.

Amethyst eyes widened.

"Why so surprised, little hunter?" Rido asked amusedly in response to Zero's wordless reaction. "There _is_ an uncanny resemblance, isn't there? Between Kaname and me…"

With an unconscious small nod, Zero replied quietly, "...Yes." He couldn't really deny something that was so painfully obvious. But…

"And no."

An elegant dark eyebrow rose in evident amusement. "How so?"

The feeling this man was giving off, the atmosphere around him – they couldn't be more different from Kaname's.

"You…" Zero started, his eyes lowering thoughtfully for a long second, "You don't feel alike at all."

"Oh?" A snort of laughter, then the pureblood unhurriedly turned around and moved away. Zero couldn't help the involuntary sigh of relief that he unknowingly let out at that moment. His tense shoulders dropped a bit as well. "And what _do_ I feel like, pray tell?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Zero all but blurted out, "Like a mayhem of bloodthirsty madness."

Which evoked a reaction the teen certainly didn't expect.

Rido burst into laughter.

Then, having calmed down, the brunet man turned to face Zero once more and asked, "So you think I am mad?"

Zero gave Rido a long, searching look before giving his reply.

"No," he uttered thoughtfully – an answer that caused Rido's eyes to narrow with mirth and his smirk to widen yet again.

"Is that so?"

In response to the pureblood's nonchalantly spoken question, Zero only gave a silent nod.

There was a chuckle. Then Rido's voice sounded again, "Why are you so terrified of me then?"

"…It's hard not to be."

Another snort of laughter, the dark self-satisfied smirk never leaving the pureblood's features. "I see," was all he offered in reply. When he reached the table, he turned to Zero again and, putting his hand on the closest to him chair, resumed speaking, " _Now_ …come here and sit with me, little hunter. I would like to have a little chat with you."

"…No."

Rido tilted his head slightly to the side with a fake innocent expression on his face as he asked, "Why not?"

"I'm perfectly fine where I am," Zero shot back without hesitation. "Let Ichiru go."

" _No_ ," Rido gave in reply playfully with a wide mocking smile. " _But_ if you agree to be a good boy and _listen_ to my very polite request, I may consider granting your wish."

Zero pressed his lips into a thin line, stubbornly refusing to move from where he was. Then, after a few long moments, he complied and slowly proceeded towards the vampire before him, but not without taking another worried look at his twin over his shoulder.

"Calm down, little hunter," Rido spoke again as he watched Zero amusedly, having already made himself comfortable in his chair behind the table. "As I have said, your dear brother is all well and unharmed. I merely… _coaxed_ him into a _good long rest_."

Zero regarded Rido with a suspicious look before sitting down reluctantly. "He doesn't look like he was 'coaxed' into anything."

"Well, that is beyond the point," Rido replied with an elegant dismissive wave of his hand. "It's all just minor details. The fact remains that no harm was done to him, so quit worrying so much."

Zero arched an eyebrow but chose not to comment on the other's way of thinking.

"What do you want now?" the hunter inquired instead.

"Unfriendly as ever, aren't you? Why can't you try and treat me the way you do Kaname and all the others at least once?"

"You aren't exactly 'Kaname and all the others'."

"How judgmental. I'm hurt," Rido replied with a mock sad expression and a dramatic gesture of putting his hand over his heart.

Zero's brow twitched. It had been so long since their last encounter he had forgotten how exasperating the man's antics could be.

Unimpressed, Zero repeated his question, "What do you want?"

Rido's smirk slowly returned, he tilted his head to the side a bit and, once again, responded with a question of his own, "What _do_ I usually do when we meet?"

Zero blinked. He lowered his gaze thoughtfully for a couple of moments before returning it to the man sitting in front of him and replying, albeit a bit uncertainly, "Talk…?" Sometimes too much and often quite randomly.

There was a chuckle. "Why so unsure, little hunter?"

Because he could never be sure when it came to _this_ man.

But Zero kept the thought to himself and only gave a light shrug of his shoulders in response before continuing, "You could have come the way you usually do. Why do all this? Why even drag _Ichiru_ into it?"

"Well, we _would_ have met at some point in time anyway," Rido replied with his ever-present smirk and a casual shrug of his own. "Seeing how… _close_ …you are to my remaining family. And besides…" The smirk slowly grew wider, turning more darkly playful now as the man got up and moved to another end of the dark room. "Don't you think that it was getting a bit old? There was no thrilling element of surprise anymore in our encounters!" He turned around with his arms spread theatrically. "So you should really be flattered that I took the time out of my busy schedule and actually learned this little trick of going under your exceptional hunter radar just to surprise you!"

Having received nothing but skeptical look in response, Rido continued with a low chuckle, "Alright, maybe I learned it for my own benefit as well. But it is true that I was rather… _curious_ to see your reaction."

Well, that Zero certainly could believe – it seemed to be more like the vampire before him. And he didn't mean it in a good way.

"And as for your beloved twin…" Rido spoke again, returning to his seat with…

Zero blinked.

With a _wineglass_ …? Where did that even come from?

"He is only here to help me get what I want."

Zero's attention returned to Rido after being captured for a few moments by the out of place glass. "Which is?"

The smirk widened yet again. Outstretching his hand towards Zero, Rido said, "Give me your hand, palm up."

A brief frown crossed Zero's brow at the weird request, his eyes automatically going to the awaiting pale palm before him. The teen looked up with a questioning look on his face only to be met with an expectant one.

Silence between the two stretched as they continued staring at each other wordlessly. But then the corners of Rido's lips slowly went up and his unusual eyes flickered across the room to Ichiru for one short but _very_ meaningful moment.

Involuntarily, Zero tensed, and before he knew it, he was complying with the pureblood's odd request.

"Good boy," Rido said in mock approval as he seized Zero's wrist and pulled it towards himself to place it above the empty wineglass. "Now hold still," he continued, putting the forefinger of his other hand to Zero's palm, "this won't hurt a bit." And he pressed _hard_ , his suddenly thick and sharpened nail cutting into Zero's skin and drawing blood.

The teen winced, automatically trying to pull his hand out of the other's firm hold. Needless to say, the attempt turned out to be completely futile, as Rido only tightened his fingers around Zero's wrist and turned it slightly to have the blood slide into his awaiting glass.

"Shh, calm down, little hunter," the pureblood said in a quiet, silky and almost _soothing_ voice, his now burning with vivid red eyes trained on Zero, almost hypnotizing him. "I won't take _too_ much. Just enough to satisfy my hunger for the time being…."

 _'And_ just _enough to drive poor little Kaname crazy with anger and unbidden jealousy,'_ Rido mentally added to himself with an inner chuckle of dark amusement. _'Oh, how much fun_ that _will be…'_

"You don't mind helping a poor _starved_ pureblood vampire …now, do you…?" the dark-haired man spoke again with an almost imploring look – fake as it was.

Zero didn't reply, but skepticism and reluctance were evident on his face.

Rido's smirk returned with a small snort of laughter. "Then again, if you _really_ don't like it, I could always find _another_ source of blood…" Again, his eyes shifted to Ichiru for another short yet very meaningful moment. "One that I _can_ actually _bite into_ …"

And again, the trick worked perfectly. Zero sat still without even trying to get his now injured hand back.

Silence descended over the room, only occasionally interrupted by the sound of the dripping blood.

When the glass was about a third full, Rido's voice sounded once more, "You know, you really should be grateful to me, little hunter."

A puzzled frown came to Zero's features for a moment. Then he asked, "For what?"

Rido gave him an almost lazy dark smile before replying languidly, "For being kind and considerate enough not to bite you. I could easily do it. And I would _love_ every second of it."

"…Why not just do it then?" Zero inquired, his curiosity overpowering his apprehension.

The pureblood gave him a long, intent look before actually replying, "Because seeing you unknowingly _torture_ my dear nephew every day of his pureblood life is just too much fun to give up."

Another puzzled frown, this time coupled with a clearly questioning look.

But Rido only offered an enigmatic smile as his silent response, choosing not to satisfy Zero's curiosity this time around.

**-o-**

For what seemed like an excruciatinglylong while now, Kaname had been searching – blindly and unsuccessfully.

He didn't know where he was going and where he _needed_ to go. He had no idea _where_ to look, and yet that was what he was doing, because he couldn't stay put and do nothing. So he searched.

And searched.

And searched, his tortured mind racing with panic.

He had sent every single one of his black bat familiars in different directions, spreading his senses as far as he could, but it didn't help.

He tried to think rationally and get into Rido's twisted mind to _at least_ come up with a guess – any kind of possibly correct guess, really.

He was going as fast as he could. He was searching as hard as he could. And he was thinking as fast and as hard as he could.

But nothing seemed to help. No matter what Kaname tried, he came up empty-handed.

So, silently desperate by now, he could do nothing but continue to _try_ …

Kaname had never felt so pathetically terrified and useless before in his entire life.

**-o-**

_Still in his disturbing numb state, Ichiru couldn't feel it, but he was sure his heart started speeding up with involuntary excitement and thirst. Just like he was sure that his nostrils had flared up and his eyes were burning with ravenous red underneath his unmoving eyelids._

_There was a smell – a very familiar one. At first it was very faint, but as seconds slowly ticked by, it became stronger and all the more unmistakable to Ichiru._

_He knew it. He knew it better than any other, and he loved it just as much._

'Nii-san…' _Ichiru heard himself call in his head._

 _It was his blood. It was_ Zero's _blood…_

_Coldness inside Ichiru spread and intensified with the help of a suddenly surging thirst._

_But then, followed by initial uncontrollable excitement, came the frightening realization._

His brother was bleeding…

_Zero was now bleeding and still as distressed as before._

_Which made Ichiru_ that _much more anxious and increasingly agitated._

There was a dangerous growl in his head.

'Wake up,' _sounded in Ichiru's mind in a voice that he barely recognized as his own. It sent a violent shudder through him, and it was then that Ichiru realized his lost senses had started to slowly return to him._

_But that coldness continued to spread further as well, and the hunger started going deeper..._

'Wake up,' _sounded in his head again, this time louder, and Ichiru thought the voice was even harder to recognize as his own this time around. But it felt as though it had gotten closer…_

_Once again, Ichiru tried to get himself out of his current weird state of almost complete numbness._

_But just like every other one of his attempts, this one wasn't very successful as well._

_His failure was met with an angry roar._

_The coldness spread further and seeped into his being deeper._

_Another growl._ 'Wake up…!'

 _Another roar._ 'Wake up!'

_Another violent shudder racked Ichiru's body, this one far more palpable._

_Over and over again, he kept trying, with the voice never leaving his mind at peace._

_But then, all of a sudden, it got awfully quiet._

_The coldness froze in its movements._

_The darkness of Ichiru's current world thickened._

_For what seemed like a very long while, everything went still._

_But then there was a subtle_ shift _, a barely noticeable_ change _…_

 _And the silence was disturbed by what sounded like a_ crack _of a glass._

_The coldness shifted._

_Another crack resounded in Ichiru's mind, followed by another one, and another one._

_The coldness crept closer._

_There was another turn of cracks._

_And after a long breathless while…_

'Wake up.'

_The voice returned, calmer and quieter, but much, much closer. It felt as though it was a part of him now._

The glass started to shatter.

_The coldness rushed through before starting to settle in. Every cell in his being was suddenly in motion._

_The numbness slowly retreated._

_The darkness and coldness merged with him. The glass disappeared altogether._

_There was another growl, this time a soft and darkly pleased one. But the voice never came – it didn't need to._

_Once again, Ichiru tried to leave his prison._

'Nii-san…'

 _Something new in his being pushed him_ further _in response to the unconscious thought of his twin. His bloodlust flared, his awareness started to return, seemingly more keen than ever._

Ichiru's fingers twitched.

**-o-**

Zero blinked, his eyelids feeling heavy all of a sudden. His unfocused gaze shifted to one of his hands, unwittingly mesmerized by the dark crimson on his moonlit pale skin. He thought he noticed a slight tremble in his fingers, but he couldn't be sure. Nor could he concentrate on it for long enough to tell.

Zero blinked again, a faint frown coming to his features. His mind was getting a bit more confused and unfocused with every passing moment.

Then he shifted his gaze to his other hand – the one that was still captured. He saw his bloodied palm, then his bleeding wrist. Distractedly, amethyst eyes followed the crimson drops as they fell into a small dark-red sea in a wineglass.

For a moment it made a weak wave of sickness wash through him all of a sudden.

Then he somehow realized how cold the tips of his fingers started to feel.

And the coldness seemed to be slowly spreading further.

"You seem awfully pale…Are you alright, little hunter?"

Another blink. Then Zero's now cleared eyes went up to look at the owner of the voice that had pulled him out of his daze.

There was a chuckle. Then the brunet man spoke again, "Of course you are not. That was a rather foolish thing to ask, wasn't it?"

Mentally, Zero gave an absent-minded nod. Outwardly, he stayed silent and didn't show any reaction.

Then the teen lowered his amethyst eyes back to his pale fingers. He thought they felt a bit colder now.

 _'Ichiru…'_ Zero thought absently. He wanted to turn his head to look over his shoulder at his twin, but the task somehow seemed awfully difficult to him at that moment.

_He felt so tired…_

_'Ichiru…'_

"Oh, he is quite alright in his peaceful slumber," sounded Rido's voice then, and Zero's eyes widened. He hadn't realized he had uttered his twin's name out loud.

When now bleary amethyst orbs returned their attention to him, the pureblood continued, his darkly content smile never leaving his features. "You have nothing to worry about."

Internally, Zero scoffed.

 _'You just don't know Ichiru,'_ he couldn't help but think to himself with a mental shake of his head. He couldn't ' _not_ worry' about his twin. It was simply beyond his capabilities – especially so in their current situation. Because Zero…

Lavender eyes cleared anew then, everything around their owner stilled.

_He couldn't even protect him now…_

Zero's heart stopped and froze in his chest for a long moment at the _very_ belated realization.

_He couldn't even protect his other half properly now…He couldn't protect Ichiru…_

The coldness went deeper, now joined by numbness. Both were spreading through his tired body.

Zero's gaze involuntarily went to yet another drop as it joined the small sea of his blood in the wineglass. Somehow the sound of its fall seemed awfully loud to his ears.

 _How could he have been so foolishly_ naïve _…?_

**-o-**

_He was regaining his senses._

_He could feel his fingers now, and he was finally starting to feel all the other parts of his numb body. He was growing more and more aware of his surroundings. His consciousness was slowly returning to him. And one of the first things he realized was…_

'The blood…'

 _There was too much of it. There was_ too much _of Zero's blood in the air…_

 _Ichiru had known his counterpart was bleeding since a while ago, but such amount just_ wasn't normal _._

_He could tell Zero was calmer now – he felt almost placid. But it wasn't a nice kind of 'placid' – on the contrary, it disturbed Ichiru greatly, for it felt as though his other half was…_

Fading away from him…

 _Ichiru_ really _needed_ _to wake up_ _ **now**_ _._

'Nii-san…' _was the only thing running through the teen's mind._

_He felt his fingers twitch again. Then, at long last…_

With another great effort, Ichiru finally got his eyes to slowly open.

**-o-**

Kaname stopped dead in his tracks.

He felt it. After another _very_ long and _very_ frustrating while of searching…he finally _felt it_ …

It was so mild that it was barely detectable, but there was no doubt in Kaname's agitated mind. He would recognize _that_ aura anywhere.

 _'Zero-kun…'_ the pureblood breathed out an internal sigh of relief, his distress almost completely forgotten.

 _He had found him. He had_ finally _found him…_

But his moment of peace and silent delight was short-lived, as it took Kaname only a second to remember what was going on.

He took a deep breath and recollected himself.

Then, concentrating all of his senses on one direction where he now knew he could find Zero, Kaname hurried there, faster and more determined than ever.

_He was close…_

**-o-**

Zero thought it was somehow funny in a sense that it took Rido only minutes to finish a drink that took what felt to him like _hours_ to be…well, _made_.

He was feeling colder now, his weariness continuing to grow.

Amethyst eyes shifted from the wineglass that Rido emptied but seconds ago to the pureblood himself. He was saying something, but for some reason Zero couldn't quite make out what it was. He was sure he heard the man speak, but the words just couldn't settle and form full sentences in his head.

Zero blinked slowly.

Then again.

And again.

Still nothing. Only some parts he couldn't concentrate on for more than a second.

Zero couldn't feel his own blood on his skin anymore even though it was there. He knew he couldn't move his fingers and doubted that he would be able to fully control his body.

_It just felt so heavy…_

_Heavy and numb._

And the coldness had reached his ribcage by now.

Zero blinked dazedly, taking in a deep breath sharply. He realized it was a bit harder than usual to do so.

His heart sped up of its own accord without any comprehensible to Zero reason. But the hunter didn't get to ponder on that since the next moment his attention was attracted by the pureblood vampire in front of him. His gaze followed Rido as the man got up from his chair and moved towards him.

Zero couldn't be sure, but he believed his body had involuntarily tensed when the pureblood stopped to stand behind him and then leaned closer to him.

"Poor little hunter…" Rido said in a low and falsely gentle voice, his hot breath tickling Zero's ear. "I _did_ push you a bit too far…now, didn't I…?"

Quite frankly, Zero didn't have the energy to be sarcastic about the other's rhetorical question even in his mind.

So he stayed silent, merely staring into the distance with his dazed lavender eyes and waiting for Rido's next move.

He was really, _really_ tired now…

Before Zero knew it, there was a cold hand on his neck. His head was tilted back to rest against a broad shoulder. The fingers on his neck curled a bit and Zero could feel four sharp nails ready to dig into his skin.

The teen took a deep, shuddering breath. His pulse raced further and his chest tightened with instinctive fear. Not for the first time in the last few hours, Zero tried to get his hand to move and take a hold of his Bloody Rose gun. Unfortunately for him, however, this particular attempt turned out to be the least successful one so far.

"Don't you worry, little hunter, you will be alright. I will take only a little bit more, and then everything will be over…" Rido spoke again as he placed his free arm around Zero, almost hugging him. Zero managed to turn his head just in time to lock gazes with Rido before the man continued with his usual darkly playful smirk, "Let's see if Kaname can make it in time to give you all of his precious blood, shall we?"

Cold fingers started to _press down_.

**-o-**

Kaname's chest filled with dread when, all of a sudden, a certain scent assaulted his heightened senses as he was blindly chasing Zero's familiar presence.

He knew that scent. He had gotten more than accustomed to it over the years. And he craved its _source_ more than anything in the world.

Kaname's already burning with brilliant red eyes flashed brighter, his pounding heart speeding up further with instinctive hunger that was immediately followed by possessive rage.

An angry growl escaped the pureblood.

 _He had to hurry…He needed to go_ faster _…_

Kaname knew he was close, probably only minutes away from Zero, but it just _wasn't close_ _ **enough**_ _…_

Another growl, more violent and impatient this time.

The smell of blood was getting thicker with every second, and Kaname's anxiety grew further – if that was even possible anymore. He could almost literally feel and _hear_ his inner beast roar and snarl and claw at the walls of his mind in its raging madness.

_Just a bit more…He was almost there…almost-_

But then something else registered in Kaname's senses – something _entirely_ different and unknown to the pureblood, for he had never felt anything like it before.

For a brief moment, Kaname halted, taken aback. But he was on the move again in less than a split second, now even more in a hurry than before.

He had no idea what that new presence was and he couldn't even imagine what or whom it could belong to, but one thing he _could_ tell for sure.

_It was dangerous._

_And it was hungry for blood…_

Kaname's heart raced in added horror.

_'Zero-kun…'_

**-o-**

Ichiru's eyes narrowed dangerously a second after adjusting to darkness and taking in the scene before them, any remaining lilac in them completely surrendering to violent crimson in an instant.

 _'Kuran…'_ the teen hissed hatefully to himself, his suddenly awakened vampire growling angrily in his head.

Ichiru's fingers twitched yet again, his nails lengthening, turning into claws without the teen's knowledge. His lips slowly parted to reveal elongated fangs.

_He was getting closer…_

Ichiru watched, transfixed and terrified, his insides going completely cold and his slowly freezing with dread heart beating faster and faster against his numb ribcage.

 _He was getting closer, and Zero was doing_ nothing _to stop him…even though he was_ still _extremely distressed and awfully afraid…_

Ichiru knew, he could _feel_ it…

Heedless of his binds, the teen leaned forward.

He _was getting_ closer _, and Zero was going to_ let _him do it…_

Ichiru's eyes widened, turning wild, vivid crimson in them darkened. His heartbeat quickened further and for a short while there, it felt like he was starting to hyperventilate. After another blink, everything before him stilled, turning red. And then…

He was suddenly in another part of the room, tearing into what he thought was Kuran Kaname's throat.


	20. Final Catalyst

 

_"Ichiru, you're here..." little Zero said upon entering his room and finding his twin there, in his bed. Yet again. Not that he minded in the least – on the contrary, it was actually somewhat comforting._

_"Welcome back, nii-san," Ichiru greeted with a smile as he lifted his gaze from a book he was reading to his twin. "You're home early," he commented after taking a glance at a watch on a nightstand to his left. "Did something happen?"_

_"Kind of. Yagari-shishou was called out on a mission."_

_"Oh," was Ichiru's only response as he went back to reading his book._

_"How are you feeling?" Zero asked then, his hand automatically going to Ichiru's forehead to feel for the younger boy's temperature. To his relief, it wasn't as high as it had been the day before._

_"Fine," Ichiru replied distractedly, his attention still on the book in his lap. Then he added with a light shrug of his small shoulders, "Much better than yesterday, anyway."_

_"I see," Zero unconsciously released a quiet sigh of relief, a small smile already making its way on his lips. "That's great."_

_"Mm," Ichiru hummed absently in response as Zero left his side to get changed into his homewear._

_"What are you reading this time?" Zero asked after a short while, already finished with changing and now climbing into his bed to once again join his twin. "Another hunter spellbook?" It were mostly those books that Zero often found Ichiru reading. Unlike himself, his other half actually seemed rather fascinated by the subject. Which was probably the reason why he was so good at it even at his very young age._

_Having to stay at home so often because of his fragile health, Ichiru had to find something to busy himself with while waiting for Zero's return from school or training. And that something ended up being books – and not just any books, but hunter books, especially spellbooks._

_"No," came Ichiru's reply, "this one is about vampires."_

_Zero blinked._ 'That's unusual...' _he thought._

_With a thoughtful hum, Zero leaned closer to his counterpart to look at the book the other was so engrossed in. A frown crossed his features briefly as he spoke, "It seems to be a difficult one."_

_"It is. I don't quite get about a third of what it says," Ichiru answered, his brows furrowing as well and a small pout coming to his childish features._

_Zero couldn't help but chuckle heartily at his brother's expression. It was just too adorable._

_Lilac eyes locked with almost completely identical to them lavender ones, Ichiru's frown deepened and his pout grew. "Don't laugh! It's annoying not to understand when you read something!"_

_Another chuckle. Then Zero answered, "Sorry, sorry. I promise I won't laugh anymore."_

_"You're still doing it," Ichiru pointed out grumpily with a skeptically arched silver eyebrow._

_Zero chose to play innocent. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he asked, "Doing what?"_

_"Laughing at me."_

_"I am not."_

_"You very much_ are _. I can tell, and you know that, nii-san." Sheer amusement twinkling in Zero's eyes couldn't be more evident to Ichiru. His beloved other half_ was _making fun of him in his mind._

_Zero couldn't hold back another chuckle before admitting, "Alright, maybe I am."_

_"Not 'maybe', you really are." And Ichiru's pout grew even more prominent, which only added to Zero's quiet amusement. Ichiru didn't miss that as well, but this time he didn't get to offer his displeased comment, as the next moment his counterpart patted his head affectionately with an openly adoring smile on his identical yet so different in Ichiru's eyes face, and the younger boy could do nothing but stare at his twin stupidly with a light blush of nervous embarrassment slowly spreading over his face._

_After another few long seconds, Ichiru averted his gaze back to his book. Strangely enough, it didn't seem that interesting to him anymore, but he still chose to devote his undivided attention to it, for some unknown to him reason unable to bear to look his other half in the eye any longer._

_Zero's smile widened and he let out another quiet chuckle before withdrawing his hand – an action Ichiru couldn't help but secretly protest against in his head – and speaking again, "Sorry. But that aside, why the sudden interest?"_

_"Huh?" Ichiru's gaze returned to Zero, now inquiring._

_"In vampires," Zero replied, pointing at the book in Ichiru's hands. "It's not what you usually read."_

_"Oh...well..." Ichiru looked at the book once more, his lilac eyes turning thoughtful. Then, with a shrug, he continued, "I don't know. I just stumbled on it and got curious is all."_

_"I see." Zero smiled in understanding. "And I guess the fact that you're still reading it even though you don't fully get it means that it's interesting, right?"_

_Ichiru hummed thoughtfully before replying with a small nod, "Yeah. At least the parts that I do get are. Especially..." The little hunter flipped quite a few pages before finding what he was looking for. He pointed at a chapter heading and continued, "This one here. I liked it the most."_

_Zero blinked, reading the heading curiously. His eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "'Turned vampires'...?"_

_"Mm," Ichiru nodded._

_Zero turned his gaze back to his twin and tilted his head to the side with an inquiring look on his face._

_Ichiru understood the wordless question and, smiling softly, he answered it, "It has much more information about them than what we've been given. And it's much more interesting and detailed. It also says how they differ from all the other kinds of vampires."_

_Zero only offered a small hum in response. Then his attention returned to the book anew and, unwittingly intrigued now, he started reading the chapter before he knew it._

_A comfortable silence settled between the two boys. Zero continued reading, occasionally frowning at some still confusing and incomprehensible for someone his age words, while Ichiru only stared at the book in his lap, lost in his thoughts yet again._

_It was only a few minutes later that the younger boy decided to break the peaceful silence._

_"Say, nii-san..."_

_"Hm?"_

_"If..." Ichiru faltered, his eyes lowering thoughtfully for a very long moment._

_That got Zero's full attention. Turning his gaze away from the book and to his counterpart, the older boy asked with a soft smile, "What is it, Ichiru?"_

_"If I...were to ever turn into a vampire..." Zero's eyes widened at the sudden thought. Ichiru's apprehensive for some reason gaze locked with Zero's surprised one as the younger twin finished his question, "Would you still love me?"_

_Zero blinked in stunned surprise. Then he stared. And stared. And stared some more before blinking again._

_"Huh?" came from Zero at long last, his head tilting to the side a little._

_It wasn't very noticeable externally, but internally Ichiru's nervousness grew. Uncertain lilac eyes lowered briefly, the younger boy had to take in a deep breath before repeating his question, "If I turned into a vampire, would you still love me, nii-san?"_

_And all Zero could do was give yet another dumbfounded blink. But then he lowered his gaze in thought, a frown forming on his features._

_Ichiru could tell that his twin_ was _thinking hard on his sudden question._

_Unsurprisingly though, it didn't take Zero long to figure out his answer._

_"Yeah," the older boy said with a nod as he lifted his head and locked gazes with his counterpart anew, "I would."_

_"Really?" Ichiru asked right away, leaning towards Zero a bit. His eyes were wide and bright with hope now – one that could be heard in his voice as well._

_Zero smiled and gave another nod, "Yeah, really."_

_Familiar gentle warmth filled Ichiru's small chest at Zero's response. Lilac eyes got brighter and a smile slowly spread over the younger boy's face._

_To Ichiru it was one of the happiest moments in his life._

**-o-**

A scream of pain filled the dark room as Ichiru tore into Rido's throat with his sharp, bloodthirsty fangs. It was soon followed by an angry growl and then by an almighty roar as the pureblood recovered from his initial shock caused by the unexpected assault.

Rido's nails transformed into sharp talons, fangs extended and eyes turned dangerous red. Now enraged, the pureblood tried to rip his assailant off of himself by tearing into his back and throwing him across the room, but the attempt failed, as Ichiru tightened his hold on his prey by thrusting his teeth deeper into the long pale neck while his own talons pierced the skin of Rido's chest and face, forcing the pureblood's head back for better access to his throat.

Another animalistic snarl followed.

Then Rido jerked backwards abruptly.

A muffled pained groan sounded from Ichiru as his back collided with a wall. The teen felt as though he was being crushed, yet he still refused to let go of his hateful prey.

Ichiru bit harder and drank deeper, his claws sinking further into the already torn flesh.

 _He would kill him. He would_ kill _Kuran._

A muffled growl sounded from Ichiru as the thoughts flashed through his still disordered mind. His burning eyes widened, wild pupils dilated.

_He would drain the life out of him and tear his lifeless corpse to shreds._

A soft, almost purr-like growl sounded in the back of Ichiru's mind. _'Yess,'_ it whispered darkly in his own voice, softly coaxing him into doing what his darker side had been secretly dying to do for some time now.

 _'Do it,'_ that same voice continued with growing eagerness. _'Get rid of this annoying nuisance once and for all.'_

Ichiru's pulse quickened in vicious excitement.

_'Kill him. Just kill him and…'_

There was a moment of absolute silence as that voice trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging. Everything in Ichiru stopped.

 _'And we_ _will be free…'_

 _Zero_ would be free. At long last, he would be free of this annoying persistent leech that just didn't know when to quit and back the hell off.

With a vicious growl, Ichiru forced his claws and fangs deeper into the already mercilessly abused flesh.

 _'He won't get it,'_ Ichiru mentally told himself determinedly. _'This cunning bastard will_ never _get what he wants._ I _won't allow it…'_

A low chuckle sounded in Ichiru's head, dark contentment was evident in the quiet voice that spoke next, _'Yes, that's right. We won't allow it. But…'_

_'But…?'_

_'…Will Zero forgive us?'_

Everything in Ichiru's being froze at the question. But it didn't take long for the teen to come to himself and answer, _'Of course he will. Why wouldn't he?'_

_'You know why. Don't pretend like you haven't noticed.'_

_'It's all just in my head. I'm being paranoid,'_ Ichiru tried to convince both himself and the voice.

Alas, the attempt failed miserably.

_'And what if you're not?'_

_'…It wouldn't matter.'_

_'Oh? And why is that?'_

_'Because Zero would forgive me either way.'_

Ichiru could clearly hear a satisfied grin in the voice when it sounded in his mind again. _'Because he loves us…right?'_

 _'…Yes…'_ Ichiru mentally replied, a bit of tranquility slowly returning to his agitated mind. He couldn't help a small smile that found its way on his features – at least internally, it did. _'He does. He loves us more than anyone else in this world...'_

_And it would forever remain that way._

The voice then retreated back to the recesses of Ichiru's mind, finally letting the teen himself return to reality.

Now determined, Ichiru was ready to launch another strike – a deadlier one this time around.

But he was a split second too late, as his prey had already recovered from its initial shock and now was ready to fight back after escaping its bloodthirsty hunter's lethal claws.

**-o-**

Zero's head slowly rolled to the side as he was lying on the cold floor teetering somewhere on the brink of inevitably approaching unconsciousness.

Hazy lavender eyes blinked, a frown made its way on the now pallid face. It took a few long seconds for his blurry vision to clear, and when it did, Zero's eyes widened in horror, his breath hitched and his heart raced in his frozen chest.

 _'Ichiru…'_ Zero tried to call out his twin's name, but no sound made it past his lips. He tried to move, but all he managed to do was a slight twitch of his fingers that he couldn't even feel.

Panic returned and started settling in once more – this one of different kind and far stronger and deeper than the one Zero had felt not so long before. His pulse raced further, his lungs stopped functioning properly.

 _'Ichiru…'_ Zero tried again, but his numb body refused to listen to him. It felt heavy, his head was pounding and darkness never stopped closing in on his tired mind. His eyes could barely remain open, but he couldn't allow coldness and sleep to overtake him just yet, no.

He couldn't leave Ichiru all alone. He had to stay awake; he had to stay with him…

 _'Ichiru, don't…'_ Zero implored his counterpart in his mind as he watched Ichiru tear into Kuran Rido's flesh with his sharp claws and fangs. For now he was winning, but even in his current condition Zero knew that it wouldn't last. The man was just too strong and dangerous…He was a _pureblood_ , and that alone said it all. Which was why Ichiru needed to stop what he was doing and just…

 _'Run,'_ Zero mentally pleaded with his other half, foolishly hoping that Ichiru would somehow hear and actually _listen_ to him.

But all was in vain, along with Zero's endless attempts to get his frozen weakened body to move and his voice to come out of his dry throat. And thus, terrified, he could only watch the events unfold before his half-closed eyes that were starting to quickly lose their focus.

Zero's heart nearly stopped when he saw Rido break free from Ichiru's hold.

Everything in his being froze with suffocating fear as he watched the pureblood turn around to strike back.

But then a huge wave of momentary relief washed over him when Ichiru successfully dodged the attack.

That feeling didn't last long, however, because the next thing his other half did was recklessly launch himself right back at his raging opponent.

For what seemed like too long a while, that battle continued.

Zero's vision began to blur, his eyes too tired to focus properly on anything and eyelids too heavy to stay open any longer. He blinked slowly a few times, hoping that it would help clear the dark mist he was currently seeing.

But when he was finally able to see again, a confused frown came to Zero's features. He couldn't help but think that he was hallucinating, for the sight before his eyes was too bizarre to believe.

A countless number of tiny flying black animals suddenly came from nowhere and filled the room. It took Zero a few seconds to realize they were bats, but that only made his bewilderment grow. He had to wonder whether he was still awake against all of his numb body's wishes.

His chest constricted. Apprehension joined the confusion. But then…

A shuddering breath made it past Zero's lips and filled his rigid lungs. The amount of relief that flooded through him at that very moment was immeasurable.

_'Kaname…'_

He could sense it now. That presence that seemed so familiar even though he had only gotten to feel it a few times throughout the years. Kaname _did_ tend to always conceal it for some reason, after all…

Zero's pulse raced once more, but for an entirely different reason this time. He realized he could breathe again, his frozen body didn't feel as impossibly heavy, and panic finally began to recede. He suddenly felt warm and almost…serene…in spite of the situation he was still in. And then…

Then he remembered just how impossibly tired he was and how much he wanted to sleep, and this peaceful warmth did little to convince him otherwise.

There was a gentle pull somewhere in his subconsciousness. It was barely there, so Zero forgot about it the next moment – only its faint echo remained to remind him of the pleasant feeling.

Unwittingly, Zero followed its lead, his eyelids slowly began to droop.

But a part of him still remembered that he couldn't _leave_ just yet. He couldn't. Because…

 _'Ichiru…'_ Zero called internally, about to find his twin and re-focus his gaze on him.

But then there was a whisper of his name; soft and incredibly gentle. Everything in it seemed so familiar, so…welcoming…

In his clouded mind, Zero made only one small step towards that almost inaudible voice, but that was all it took.

Unexpectedly warm and somewhat familiar darkness enveloped him, and he finally slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

**-o-**

Barely dodging yet another one of Ichiru's frenzied attacks, Rido cursed inwardly as he felt an unpleasantly familiar presence of his _'dear nephew'_ draw closer at disturbingly fast speed.

Sure enough, Kaname's 'timely' appearance wasn't at all unexpected. Rido had known from the very beginning that the fool would come for his beloved little hunter without fail, and he had known that it would happen sooner rather than later. And he had been more than prepared for it. It had all been a part of his plan and everything had been going according to it, after all. _Until…_

Rido struck right back at Ichiru after evading yet another assault of the blood-crazed hunter's sharp talons. This time around he managed to hit his mark – to his sadistic delight. Alas, the sustained injury didn't seem to have affected the boy in the slightest. He only continued his assaults – each more ferocious and unpredictable than the other.

 _Until_ this _unforeseen 'circumstance' happened._

Rido let out an angry growl when Ichiru managed to spill his precious pure blood once more. For a split second then, the teen disappeared from sight, his movements startlingly fluid and precise, before re-emerging seemingly out of nowhere and aiming savagely for Rido's neck.

If the man wasn't a pureblood gifted with so many advantages over all the other vampires, he probably wouldn't have managed to escape the unpredicted attack with hardly any serious wound. As it was, however, he had relatively successfully evaded it, but that was only a minor victory not even worth paying attention to, for he had too many problems to face right now.

_There was something wrong with this one…_

Rido knew for sure now; the boy was just too unlike any other vampire of his level – any vampire of _any_ other levels, really.

His movements were too swift and smooth while being wild, predatory and very unpredictable. His aura was too strong and oppressive, his speed too high, his actions too smart, his instincts and reflexes too good.

_And he was getting better and better with every second of their unexpected fight…_

Rido gave a hiss when another one of Ichiru's strikes ended up drawing his blood.

 _He_ really _didn't have time for this._

Not to mention that it was getting _way_ too troublesome for his liking.

Mentally cursing once more, Rido backed as far away from Ichiru as possible using his superior pureblood speed.

Ichiru followed blindly, his claws and fangs bared and more than ready to tear his opponent apart. Before he could get close enough for attack, however, Rido's form transformed into a dark liquid mass and soon dissipated altogether.

And so the pureblood left.

**-o-**

Kaname's dark form slowly emerged from the black mass of his bat familiars that had consumed Zero just moments before, his eyes burning a vicious red, his face set into a grim expression and his very aura _screaming_ of his deepest cold rage and strongest desire to tear something – or rather, _someone_ – to shreds.

Alas, by the time he arrived Rido had already taken his leave. And while that made Kaname extremely frustrated and more than just eager to follow and hunt down the bastard, a part of him actually thought that it was better that way. Because as much as he and his inner beast wanted to simply _rip_ Rido _apart_ , Zero's well-being came first to both of them, so they had to give up on the idea of pursuit.

Thus, with a displeased growl and one last baleful glance in the direction Rido had left off to, Kaname turned to Ichiru, ready to ask the teen if he was okay, when…

The pureblood stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in place by what he was seeing and _sensing_. His heart began to race with involuntary apprehension that he would never admit to feeling, and an icy shiver slowly ran through his rigid form.

 _'What in the world…'_ Kaname thought to himself, motionless and unable to do anything but watch the one before him cautiously. It was only after a few very long moments of tense silence that he found his voice and spoke in a near whisper, "Ichiru…kun?"

It _was_ Ichiru, alright. His outer appearance was almost the same as always, after all – save for the unusually elongated and sharpened fangs and dark talons, swirling with a bright crimson wild eyes and a disturbing amount of blood all over his slightly slouched in preparation for attack form.

It was his aura that had… _changed_ …for some reason. It hadn't just shifted like it happened when one's emotions got the better of them. It had _completely changed_ – its very essence seemed to have completely morphed into something drastically different altogether.

_It screamed 'danger'._

_It screamed 'murder'._

_It screamed 'hatred'._

And every last bit of its violent intent and viciousness seemed to be meant _exclusively_ for Kaname.

 _'Well, what a surprise…'_ the pureblood couldn't help the sarcastic thought that came with an internal snort. Ichiru still _was_ himself after all, wasn't he?

A quiet growl interrupted the heavy silence between the two. Ichiru flexed his fingers and hunched further, as though preparing to leap forward.

Kaname's eyes narrowed at the sight. "Ichiru-kun…" he started warningly, his body instinctively preparing itself for a fight.

But that fight never happened.

Because the moment Ichiru tried to move forward, all strength left him, his mind suddenly got void of anything and everything, his head spun and his form fell lifelessly to the cold floor as darkness clouded his vision and dragged him into oblivion.

Kaname blinked, taken aback. After a few stunned seconds, crimson slowly retreated from his burgundy eyes, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief as he watched Ichiru's now unconscious bloodied form. Then, slowly, the brunet approached the younger teen.

And he watched.

And watched.

 _And_ watched some more, a thoughtful frown marring his features.

 _What on earth had_ that _been…?_

For another short while, Kaname stayed motionless. Then, with another small sigh, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and concentrated.

Flapping sounds filled the room as hundreds of tiny black bats came to life once more. As one, they descended and surrounded Ichiru's form, and soon the silver-haired teen was nowhere to be found, along with Zero and Kaname himself. Only the small bats remained. They fluttered around the room for another short while, and then flew away through broken windows, leaving the cold, dark place empty and eerily silent, never to return again.

**-o-**

Hazy lavender eyes fluttered open in the darkness of the unfamiliar room.

Still drowsy with sleep, they blinked a few times, trying to see their surroundings better, the dim moonlight being the only thing that somehow helped them in that task.

Everything in sight was indeed unfamiliar, so it was safe to say that Zero had no idea where he was. Strangely enough though, that wasn't a cause for concern. Something else, however, was. And that was the fact that...

_Ichiru..._

Zero could tell even without having to extend his arm out over the almost uncomfortably spacious bed to feel and make sure.

His brother wasn't with him...

He wasn't there sleeping right next to him like usually, and when Zero tried to detect Ichiru's familiar presence with his hunter senses, he failed miserably at that simple task.

And he didn't like it, to say the least. It made him feel way too uneasy and vulnerable. Not to mention the overwhelming worry that naturally came with not knowing where his other half was.

_'Ichiru…'_

"He is resting in another room," a familiar voice sounded, making Zero realize he had probably called his counterpart's name out loud. "You don't need to worry, Zero-kun. He is alright."

Zero's gaze turned towards the source of the voice, his eyes almost immediately finding the moonlit form of its owner who was sitting in a chair not far from the bed. As always, the man was a master at masking his presence and catching Zero off guard because of it.

"Kaname…" the teen breathed out, slowly sitting up, "What-" he continued, but didn't finish his sentence, his form suddenly tensing and eyes widening.

"…You remember what happened, don't you?"

Zero lowered his gaze, his fingers involuntary tightened on the blanket he was covered with. A small nod was his only response to Kaname's inquiry.

"I see…" was all the pureblood could say.

There was a long moment of silence. Then Kaname's voice sounded again. "I'm sorry."

Zero's eyes widened, his now startled gaze going to the brunet vampire. With a slight frown, he asked, "What are you apologizing for?"

Kaname didn't say anything, but his soulful eyes told Zero more than words could relay.

There was a sigh. Then the corners of Zero's lips went up to form an affectionately warm, gentle smile.

For a few seconds there, Kaname was unable to breathe. His pulse raced, and for a fleeting yet long enough moment, he was completely overcome by a wave of absolute happiness.

All because of a simple smile. Sure, it was one that Kaname always craved to have directed only at him, but still it was nothing more than a _simple smile_ …

Now, if his reaction to itdidn't make him an utter fool, then what did…?

"It's not your fault, Kaname," Zero's voice sounded again, its tone gentle and soothing. Kaname could tell that Zero meant every word he said. He always did. "And besides, you are the one who saved us. Again. So don't go blaming yourself for something you had nothing to do with."

Guilty burgundy eyes dropped to the floor. _'No,'_ Kaname internally disagreed, his fingers on one hand curling into a fist while the ones on the other tightened on the knuckles of that fist. _'You're wrong, Zero-kun. I had_ everything _to do with it. Because I…'_

The pureblood lifted his eyes, a split second away from voicing his thoughts. But Zero spoke first.

"Is this your room?"

Kaname's racing mind stopped working briefly. He blinked, taken aback. For a few moments, he could do nothing but stare at Zero with wide bewildered eyes.

An uncharacteristic of Kaname _'Huh?'_ was all that came out of his mouth when he finally recovered from his weird short-lived stupor.

Zero couldn't help but chuckle softly at the other's more than just unusual response. His smile widened, quiet amusement obvious in his lavender eyes as he repeated his previous question, "Is this your room, Kaname?"

"Oh," Kaname blinked again, still in a slight daze. Then, with a small nod, he said, "Yes, it is."

Humming thoughtfully, Zero looked around. When he was finished, he gave a silent nod of his own and resumed speaking, "How come we've never been here before…? Now that I think about it, you were always the one who came to us and never the other way around…"

Kaname couldn't help but smile a fond yet somewhat sad smile as he watched Zero absently voice his thoughts.

"An instinct, perhaps?" he offered his answer to the hunter's most probably rhetorical question. "This place _is_ full of high-level vampires, after all. It is only wise to stay away from here."

"I guess…" Zero replied, his eyes lowered in thought for a few seconds before returning to Kaname's still smiling face. "But everyone here is different. There's you…And Ichiru is a vampire too…"

"Well, Ichiru-kun is…" Kaname's gaze lowered for a moment, his smile faltering. "He is different too." Garnet eyes settled on Zero anew, and the brunet's smile returned to his face. It turned a bit playful when he spoke next, "And I believe that he has a rather strong dislike for _some_ of us, so it is no wonder that he prefers to stay away."

Zero let out a small snort of amusement, an apologetic smile already on his face and directed Kaname's way. In response to which the pureblood only shook his head silently, his own gentle smile never leaving his lips.

After a few moments of companionable silence, however, Kaname's good spirits slowly began to shift in the opposite direction as he watched anxious concern gradually take over Zero's features. He knew what the teen would ask even before the actual words left his mouth.

"Can I see him?"

And of course, to Kaname's chagrin, he couldn't be more right in his guess.

The pureblood ignored the bitterness that came over him at those moments – or tried his best to do so, at the very least – and answered with a soft, yet fake, smile, "Of course..."

Zero frowned. From that alone Kaname knew that the teen could clearly see right through his mask. He quickly got up and turned around before Zero could pick up on any more of his innermost feelings. "Follow me, Zero-kun."

Zero parted his lips to say something else, but the words got stuck in his throat and never made it out, because Kaname had already started for the door, his back turned to Zero. After a few moments of hesitation, the teen got up and followed suit.

The two entered another spacious room that Zero guessed was some sort of study. He couldn't distinguish much in the dark, but he knew what a writing desk and bookcases looked like when he saw ones. Soon enough they were out of that said room as well, and now walking down a wide, long hallway.

Zero knew they were getting closer to Ichiru, because he was finally able to sense him. Immediately, a huge wave of relief went through him. But the feeling quickly died down, because the next second Zero realized…

_Something was off..._

He tensed, his anxiety was back again.

 _Ichiru's aura didn't feel the way it usually did. It seemed…_ off _…somehow…Unstable even, for some reason._

And that worried Zero, very much so. The desire to be by his other half's side was never _this_ strong in him.

And to Zero's greatest relief, it wasn't long before that desire of his was fulfilled.

Upon entering the room Ichiru was in, Zero all but ran towards his counterpart's unconscious form on a spacious bed, never noticing Kaname's wistful gaze on him.

A soft sigh of relief came from the silver-haired teen when his eyes took in his brother's serene face. He didn't seem to be in pain or disturbed in any way, so maybe Zero's worries were for nothing this time around. At least so he hoped.

Careful not to disturb Ichiru's rest, Zero slowly lowered himself down on the edge of the bed. Immediately, he reached out to brush a few strands of his other half's identically silver bangs away from his face before carefully putting his palm on the younger teen's forehead.

Kaname blinked, his head tilting slightly to the side in something akin to wonder as he asked, "You do that quite often, don't you, Zero-kun?" When the said teen turned to him with a silent question clear in his lavender eyes, Kaname elaborated, "Feeling Ichiru-kun's forehead." Kaname could remember Zero doing it on numerous occasions. He had wondered about that action whenever he had seen it, but it was only now that he actually let his mild curiosity about it show.

Amethyst eyes widened in understanding. It looked like Zero himself hadn't been quite aware of his…habit…of sorts.

"Oh…" came from the silver-haired teen as he removed his hand from his twin's forehead, slightly self-conscious all of a sudden. "I didn't notice," he admitted.

A companionable silence settled over the room. Zero's hand returned to Ichiru's face again after only a few seconds of staying away. But this time it was there to brush a few stray locks of silver hair away from the younger teen's closed eyes.

"He used to be very sickly as a child…" Zero resumed speaking quietly after a while, his amethyst eyes slowly losing their focus as he got lost in memories. "He could never leave the bed, let alone the house, because of it. At first I couldn't really get why it was that way…Why Ichiru always needed to take a bunch of medicine that never actually seemed to help just to be fine, when I hardly ever caught a cold. Everything else about us was the same, after all…So I couldn't see any reason for such a distinct difference." Zero paused, a small rueful smile coming to his lips as he shook his head lightly at something only he knew.

After another few seconds of thoughtful silence, the silver-haired teen continued, "It was only when Ichiru sneaked a book about vampires from our parents' library that we found out why he was that way and why we were often referred to as 'the cursed twins'. But knowing that didn't really change anything. Ichiru was still as sickly as ever, and his condition kept worsening by the day, no matter how careful we were and what medicine he took. Our parents and master saw it, and Ichiru and I felt it, even if there were days when he was well enough to actually go outside."

Kaname listened quietly, watching Zero and paying attention to every subtle change in his expression. And his previous bitterness was forgotten, now replaced by sympathy and unexpected sadness.

"But his good condition never lasted for long. After a mere few hours outside he could easily come down with a fever and then stay in bed for days, if not weeks…So it was pretty common for mom and dad to feel Ichiru's forehead to check if he had a fever, just in case. And before I knew it, I started doing it too, even though Ichiru kept asking me not to because he hated it." A soft chuckle left Zero's lips at some rather endearing memories he had of his twin from their childhood. "He still does, actually. And yet I _still_ seem to be doing it from time to time in spite of it."

Kaname couldn't help but smile and let out a small chuckle of amusement at that. "Yes, you certainly do," he said in reply.

Zero's only response was a sheepish smile sent the pureblood's way.

A few moments of companionable silence passed. Then Kaname's voice sounded again, "I have to say though, it is extremely difficult to imagine Ichiru-kun as a sickly child now."

Zero's soft smile turned slightly sad as he replied, "And back then it was impossible to imagine him as a healthy one, no matter how hard one might have tried. Even Ichiru himself gave up all hope of getting better at some point…"

Burgundy eyes widened. The last bit of information certainly took Kaname by surprise.

"Is that so…" he trailed off before continuing after a few moments, "I never thought of Ichiru-kun as someone who can give up…" And that was the truth. Kaname honestly doubted that the younger twin even knew how to give up. He was too stubborn for that.

"He can't. Normally, that is. He is just too stubborn for that," Zero replied, unknowingly voicing Kaname's exact thoughts.

And the pureblood himself, in turn, couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and agree, "Yes, that is certainly true."

Zero blinked, his eyebrows rising a bit and head tilting slightly to the side as he wondered for a moment about the reason for Kaname's sudden amusement. But when the brunet only shook his head in response to his questioning gaze, Zero chose to dismiss the matter with a light shrug of his shoulders and a soft smile that he couldn't keep off his lips for some reason.

The two remained quiet for some while, merely enjoying the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere around them as well as each other's familiar presences. Zero returned his attention to Ichiru, his hand immediately reaching out to pat his twin's head affectionately. Kaname could see that it was most probably an unconscious gesture on Zero's part – another habit of sorts, probably. Still, he couldn't help the painful tightness that he always felt in his chest whenever he witnessed one of many such sights. Even though he should have gotten used to it by now.

But then the air around Zero shifted, his expression changed and his form grew somewhat tense. He turned to Kaname, his lips parting to say something, but no sound made it out in the end.

A faint frown crossed Kaname's features briefly. Puzzled and a little worried now, the pureblood tilted his head slightly to the side, a wordless question visible in his deep garnet eyes.

For a few moments, Zero remained silent, hesitant. Then, at long last, he spoke, "Kaname, I-" But he broke off the next second, as someone knocked on the massive door of the room they were in.

Kaname sighed, all but glaring at the now offending wooden object and barely managing to suppress his irritation at the unwanted interruption. He would have been more than happy to ignore it and concentrate every bit of his attention on Zero, but the said teen was having none of that.

Smiling softly, Zero breathed a small sigh and shook his head. "No, it's nothing. You should probably go. Whatever it is, it seems urgent," Zero said, very clearly sensing Ichijou's anxiety from the other side of the door.

"But…" For some reason, Kaname had a strong feeling that it wasn't _'nothing'_ , and he _really_ didn't want to go anywhere.

"It's okay, really," Zero tried to assure the brunet. "And it can wait, so don't worry about it."

Kaname wasn't fully convinced. Nevertheless, he chose to comply with Zero's wishes and dismissed the matter for now. "If you say so…" he trailed off, a bit disappointed still. He turned around then and, casting Zero one last glance over his shoulder, said with a gentle smile, "I will see you later then, Zero-kun."

"Yeah," the silver-haired teen replied, nodding, "later…" He followed Kaname's retreating form with his eyes for another couple of seconds until the pureblood left, then his gaze returned to Ichiru.

For some while, Zero just sat there on the edge of the bed and watched his other half sleep peacefully. For the umpteenth time that night alone, his hand reached out all of its own accord to once again feel Ichiru's forehead, brush a few wisps of hair away from his face and then stroke his cheek tenderly.

With a soft sigh and a small content smile, Zero slowly got up and went to the other side of the spacious bed before carefully climbing into it and lying down next to his twin. Shifting closer to Ichiru, Zero took his counterpart's hand into his own under the thick blanket the two of them were covered with, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

**-o-**

_"I wonder why they call us 'cursed'…" little Ichiru voiced absently, immediately drawing Zero's attention away from a book he was reading. "We're not 'cursed', you know…" he continued in the same thoughtful manner, "Not at all."_

_Zero didn't offer a response to that – he was unable to, because he honestly didn't know what to say. So he just sat there on their shared bed and waited for his twin to continue._

_Which Ichiru did, "We're both alive, even though one of us should have died…And we have each other…Sure, I hate my body for being like_ this _, but I will find a way to become healthy one day," he said, his small fists tightening on his blanket. His gaze turned to Zero then, intent, determined and full of emotion. "I really_ will _, nii-san. And we will be able to live normally then, just the two of us…"_

_Zero couldn't help but smile fondly at that notion. "That would be great. I'd like that very much, Ichiru. But you don't have to look for a way to get better all on your own, you know. I'll help you, and so will mom and dad."_

_Ichiru's countenance turned several degrees colder in an instant, his previously warm lilac eyes now steely. Zero noticed the change and he knew the reason for it, and it made his small chest tighten painfully. But he chose not to say anything about it and just listened to his twin as he answered next, "I don't think they would be very helpful. They gave up on me already anyway, so I'm fine without their help."_

_Zero's face fell, a quiet sigh leaving him. "Ichiru,-"_

_"It's okay though," Ichiru interrupted his counterpart, knowing pretty much every single word Zero wanted to say. "I'm happy so long as you're with me, nii-san. And I don't really need anyone else." And that was nothing but the honest truth._

_Zero's chest tightened again, this time with very mixed emotions, but he still couldn't help a warm, gentle – albeit a bit uncertain – smile that made its way on his lips at those moments. "Yeah," he nodded almost imperceptibly, "me too…"_

_Ichiru couldn't be more content with Zero's answer._

**-o-**

Even with his mind hazy and still not fully awake, Zero knew for sure he had been in a position like this before. A long, long time ago, at the very night Ichiru had bitten him for the very first time.

A pair of burning crimson eyes stared intently at him, wild and hungry, anguished and panicked. They were so close Zero could see every little detail in their depths, every single emotion flickering in them, just like he could clearly feel their owner's ragged breathing on his face.

For a moment there, Zero's lavender eyes widened in shock and horror, his heart skipped a beat and panic began to rise within him. But then he recognized the familiar features so identical to his own, and all the fear and anxiety dissipated only to be replaced by calmness and relief.

 _'Ichiru…'_ Zero uttered softly in his mind, his hands slowly rising to cup Ichiru's face gently, and undeniable recognition immediately flickered in those blazing eyes. Automatically, his thumbs stroked his other half's cheeks, and for some reason, Ichiru's breathing seemed to start getting a little less ragged.

"Ichiru…" Zero repeated, this time out loud. "It's okay, you're okay," he said in a quiet, soothing tone in an attempt to placate his agitated twin. "Everything will be alright…"

Their gazes remained locked for a few long, still moments. Then Zero's hands moved from Ichiru's face to the back of his head, and, tilting his own head sideways, he slowly guided his other half to his bared neck.

Immediately, not waiting another second even to perform the usual necessary preparation, Ichiru sank his now longer and thirstier than normally fangs deep into the soft, warm skin presented before him and drank greedily, never even registering a muffled pained groan emitted by his beloved twin.

 _He was so hungry…so terribly,_ unbearably _hungry…_

And there was only one person in the whole world whose blood could _truly_ satisfy him.


	21. Awakening Half

 

A whole classroom lit up with numerous pairs of vampire eyes burning with bloodlust. Every occupant of the room went rigid, unconsciously drawing in a deep breath. Their instinctive urge was to get up and follow the sweet scent of warm blood right out of the vein, but they had to resist it, for they could already _feel_ their pureblood leader's powerful hold on them. Not to mention his suffocating aura that was all over them, reaching all the way from the Moon Dormitory.

"Whose is it?" Souen Ruka asked no one in particular after some while of tense silence, discreetly sniffing the air once more. "I don't recognize it…"

"It's Kiryuu's," Aidou Hanabusa replied absently, secretly taking another deep breath.

Ruka's nose cringed at the sound of the name. She didn't like either of the twins. One was too rude and disrespectful towards her beloved Kaname-sama while the other one was way too friendly with him. But she asked anyway, "Which one's?"

"The elder one's."

"How can you tell?"

"I smelled it before."

"Yeah, and you even tasted it," Kain Akatsuki joined in the exchange then.

"What?!" Ruka exclaimed in shock. "When did _that_ happen?"

"A while ago," Kain replied calmly before continuing, now talking to his cousin, "But I have to say I'm amazed you're still alive after that, Hanabusa." Not far from him, Ichijou Takuma, who had just recently returned to class, nodded silently in agreement.

"Again, what are you talking about?" It was obvious Aidou genuinely had no idea _why_ on earth his precious pureblood leader should have been angry with him to _that_ extent. "It wasn't that big of a deal!" Certainly not enough to get him such an excruciatingly humiliating punishment in the end – at least in Aidou's mind. "And why is Kiryuu bleeding anyway? Shouldn't we go and check or something?"

"So that you could have another taste?" Shiki Senri spoke this time in his usual bored tone while munching on a pocky. "You really never learn, do you, Aidou?"

"Wha-!? That's not what I meant!" Aidou exclaimed indignantly. "I just thought maybe we should go check if he's okay! All out of the goodness of my heart!" He finished with a huff.

"Oh, so now you're worried about him?"

"What?! No! Of course not!" Why in the world would he be?

"Then why are you so eager to go and check?" It was Ichijou's turn to join in the fun and tease poor Aidou a little.

"I am not!" The level of frustration in the younger blond's voice grew by the second. And so did the slight flush on his cheeks.

"Then why even suggest the idea?"

"Because I'm curious!"

"And why are you so curious, Aidou-kun?"

"T-that's because…" Aidou faltered, a bit lost for words for once. "Argh! Just because I am!" He exclaimed before crossing his arms over his chest and turning away with a huff. His brow twitched when he heard a few chuckles and snorts, but he chose to pointedly ignore it.

Silence settled over the group. Then, after a while, Aidou spoke again.

"So are we going to go and check or what?"

Heavy sighs followed the question.

"Honestly, Hanabusa..." Kain started, shaking his head. "You really never learn, do you?"

**-o-**

It was her third or even fourth glass of water, and yet the terrible thirst Yuuki was currently suffering from didn't seem to be even getting close to being quenched.

She had woken up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. No nightmares, no weird and scary visions, no blood... For the first time in what seemed like a very long while, everything was fine. She hadn't even realized what had woken her up. Until…

There had been that faint scent in the air. So sweet and delicate and…so _delicious_ …It had made her mouth water, her chest hurt, her teeth throb – strangely and inexplicably – and her throat go dry and burn.

But that scent had vanished as suddenly as it had come. And yet the burning thirst it had awoken inside of her hadn't. On the contrary, it only seemed to be getting stronger and more intense with every passing moment.

_'So thirsty…'_

She was parched. And it hurt. It hurt so, so much…

_'Thirsty…'_

She filled another glass with water and all but gulped it down greedily in one go, uncaring of some trickles that escaped her mouth and ran down her chin, making the upper front of her nightgown wet.

**-o-**

Numb, bitter and quietly furious, Kaname stood still in front of a wooden door that led to a room he had left only a few hours prior, doing his damnedest not to enter and interrupt what he knew was happening there.

And oh, how much he wanted to do just that and _so_ much more...The temptation was great – it had been there for quite some time now, but it had never been _this_ strong. But the result of his imaginary actions wouldn't be pretty, and Zero would surely hate him if he were to give in to his raging instincts, so...

So he could do nothing but stay where he was, close his burning with vivid red eyes, take a few slow, deep breaths and…

Putting a tight leash on his ugly inner beast, he held back and waited.

Waited…

Waited…

And _waited…_

He was so _exceptionally_ good at it, after all.

A bitter chuckle left Kaname's lips, a rueful smile made its way on his features.

And as he stood there in the dark, he couldn't help but wonder…

Why would the universe or whatever it was that made things happen have it so that two people who had the same face, same voice, even same gestures and habits – all of which Kaname loved with every fiber of his foolish hopeless being – would be so completely different on the inside? And how could someone like _Zero_ love so deeply someone like _Ichiru_...?

Kaname had heard it somewhere that in human world twins were but one soul split in half. Same on the outside, but completely different on the inside, like two sides of one coin – forever connected by some invisible, incomprehensible to the rest of the world bond. They were thought to even be capable of reading each other's mind and literally _feeling_ each other's pain and distress. Apparently, that was why they saw each other as 'other half' – along with pretty much everyone around them.

Quite frankly, Kaname didn't believe twins really could do even one third of what people deemed them capable of – mind reading especially so. In his eyes, they were two separate beings that just knew each other well enough to often predict the other's actions and reactions. Nothing more and nothing less. But reluctant as he was to admit it, he couldn't deny the fact that they were indeed forever bound together by some invisible force that would keep parts of their souls captive for all eternity. Zero's unfading unconditional love and forgiveness for Ichiru – even after everything the latter had managed to do to their family and Zero himself – proved it all too well.

And that did nothing to help Kaname's frustration and slowly growing despair dissipate.

It did seem like the universe was cruelly mocking him for all of his past life's sins. But then again...

Then again, paradoxical as it was, such love Zero had for Ichiru gave Kaname hope. Hope that, if Zero could actually have such sincere and deep feelings of absolute love and acceptance towards his twin, then maybe, just maybe, he could actually…

_A sharp breath, the pureblood's heart beginning to pound harder against his ribcage at the notion he himself thought was ridiculous._

He could actually grow to love even _him…_

Kaname's chest tightened.

Foolish as he knew it was, Kaname could never give up that last bit of hope no matter how hard he tried to make himself do so. Something would just _always_ pull him back. And that something was his own weakness and strongest lack of desire to give Zero up and move on.

And so he kept waiting.

Waiting…

Waiting...

 _And_ waiting…

Kaname _was_ remarkably good at it, after all, wasn't he…?

**-o-**

It felt like a whole eternity had passed when Kaname finally found it in himself to push the door in front of him open and step into the room. The sight that greeted him there was one he very much expected to see, but still, it made his chest tighten painfully as he kept his unwavering gaze on it, involuntarily fascinated.

There Zero was, carefully tucking a still unconscious Ichiru in, gently brushing a few stray wisps of hair away from his forehead, and then settling against a headboard to watch over his twin while his hand slowly – and more than likely unconsciously – caressed the younger teen's head.

Kaname had really by now lost the count of times he had been a witness to such a display of gentle affection and quiet protectiveness from Zero. And every time it evoked mixed feelings within him. Familiar pain, bitterness and ugly jealousy on one hand and...strangely enough, unstoppable endearment and incomprehensible warm sadness on the other. It both annoyed and amazed him – the amount and deepness of unconditional devotion Zero had for Ichiru.

"Zero-kun…" Kaname called quietly, slowly making his way towards the bed.

Zero paused in his actions, frozen for a second, and turned around, his gaze immediately settling on Kaname, his lips automatically uttering the said man's name in a barely audible tone.

The pureblood didn't miss the way Zero's hand moved up to cover the side of his neck – which Kaname had noticed right away from the very beginning was covered in blood. He could tell the teen wasn't comfortable with him seeing the sight. He even thought he had detected guilt flash in those familiar amethyst orbs, and some part of him – a sadistic, ugly part – was triumphant about it.

But Kaname immediately assumed that it was nothing but his wishful thinking, that he was only seeing things his foolish self wanted him to see, so he dismissed the impossible happening altogether, choosing to concentrate on other matters at hand instead.

Zero had already fully turned around to face him when Kaname lowered himself on the edge of the bed. Wordlessly, he took hold of Zero's wrist and gently brought the teen's hand closer to himself, his thumb unconsciously moving against the pale skin there in light, soothing circles.

Zero blinked, his brows furrowing in bewilderment and head tilting slightly to the side in curious wonder. He offered no resistance to Kaname's actions, knowing very well that the other meant him no harm. But then Kaname started to slowly pull the hunter's hand up and to his mouth, his head lowering ever so slightly towards the bloodied – as Zero _just_ noticed – palm.

Lavender eyes widened, Zero's breath caught in his throat, his heart suddenly skipped a beat and then raced.

Kaname picked up on every change in Zero's demeanor and heard and _felt_ every sound due to his impeccably sharp pureblood vampire senses. Immediately, he assumed that the reason for such reaction was fear, and a small bitter smile graced his features. However…

It wasn't fear that Zero was feeling at the moment – at least not the usual fear in its typical sense. Maybe it was there in the mix, too, but it was something else entirely, something completely different. What, Zero didn't know, and he doubted that he even wanted to know what _exactly_ it was that he was currently struggling with.

"K-Kaname…" Zero started hesitantly, but stopped, unable to muster a single word out of himself when hot lips and an even hotter tongue touched the skin of his palm – their owner completely ignoring the quiet utterance of his name.

Silence settled over the room as Kaname slowly and deliberately licked blood from Zero's palm, barely managing to conceal small tremors that raked his form as he savored every drop of the desired nectar.

Zero watched Kaname's expression carefully, transfixed, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

No word sounded from either of the two even as Kaname finished cleaning Zero's palm off blood and, edging closer to the hunter, leaned in, placed his hand on the undamaged side of the teen's neck and started slowly licking blood off the opposite side.

Zero's pulse sped up further, his form tense. He couldn't help wondering in bewilderment at his own weird reaction.

It wasn't the first time Kaname was doing it. There had been occasions in the past, so it wasn't something new and unknown. But then, why…

_Why did it feel so different this time around…?_

_What had changed…?_

Zero didn't know, he couldn't even begin to guess the right answers to these questions. And for some reason, he doubted he was ready to find out.

Gradually, Zero managed to will the tension in his form away – and for that Kaname was endlessly grateful. The hunter sat there, still yet much more relaxed now, quietly waiting for the pureblood to finish his self-appointed task.

Which happened soon enough, as there hadn't been much serious damage done to Zero's neck to begin with anyway.

Giving one final deliberate lick to the pale and now completely healed skin before him, Kaname slowly withdrew, but not too far.

Amethyst gaze collided and locked with faintly burning with crimson burgundy one. For what felt like a very long while, Zero couldn't help but simply stare at those dark depths, unwittingly mesmerized by the vivid red lightening them up now and again.

Then Zero's eyes lowered, his attention settling on Kaname's mouth – or more precisely, on his fangs that were poking slightly from behind his lips. Somewhat fascinated, he gazed at them, his hand slowly rising towards the pureblood's mouth of its own accord. Carefully, tentatively, Zero brushed the pink lips before him with his fingers.

Kaname's breath hitched, an involuntary shiver ran down his spine and his pulse raced, his agitated heart ready to burst out of his ribcage. He actually felt light-headed.

Letting out a shaky breath, Kaname opened his mouth a bit, allowing Zero to touch his still – and now even more so – aroused fangs.

Which Zero did, albeit hesitantly, his gaze never leaving the object of his sudden fascination.

The touch was unsure and only lasted for a split second, but feeling it as well as being the sole center of Zero's undivided attention was enough to make Kaname's head spin.

Taking in his suddenly suffocating lungs a deep breath, the pureblood involuntarily pulled away from Zero a bit.

Amethyst eyes widened, realization flashing in them. "Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Zero started apologizing, only now realizing what he had done. Pale cheeks reddened, the hunter also shifted to help put some distance between them. "I'm sorry, Kaname." He completely misunderstood Kaname's reaction.

Which the pureblood didn't fail to notice, and he couldn't decide whether he should try and clear the misunderstanding or simply be grateful that the reason for his embarrassing response hadn't been as obvious as he had thought.

"There is no need to apologize, Zero-kun," Kaname said with a small smile, having managed to get himself under control enough to be able to speak in his usual calm, even tone. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Far from that, actually. Kaname couldn't even begin to describe how foolishly happy – albeit very much breathless, embarrassingly nervous and doubting his own state of mind and consciousness – he had been in the past minute or so. But he guessed Zero didn't really need to know that little bit of information.

Kaname did wonder about Zero's rather sudden actions though, and he wanted to satisfy his curiosity by asking, but...

His smile widened to its usual warm, kind and gently adoring whenever it was directed at Zero self. "You should rest, Zero-kun."

He decided against asking in the end.

"Mm," Zero gave a slow, absent-minded nod, only now realizing how tired and sleepy he actually was.

Kaname slowly rose to his feet. "I will see you tomorrow then. Sleep well." He made to turn and walk away, but before he could do that, a warm hand suddenly grabbed his.

The pureblood froze. Not for the first time that night, his heart stopped before it started performing some bizarre dance in his chest.

He seriously needed to start learning how to handle himself and his uncontrollable reactions to _certain_ things better. Because the way he was in that regard now was just too frustrating for his liking.

Thankfully, though, his involuntary responses and inner torment weren't as obvious to Zero as they were to him. So Kaname was spared what was considered embarrassment in his mind once again.

"Thank you," Zero said quietly, looking up at the pureblood with nothing but honest gratitude in his eyes. His fingers involuntarily squeezed the hand in his tighter, and Kaname had to do his damnedest to concentrate his attention on Zero's next words rather than on the sensations that simple touch was causing. "Thank you for everything, Kaname. Really…"

Zero meant every word he said, and Kaname knew it. He saw, knew and understood it. And he...well, he couldn't help but feel happy about it.

Kaname's smile returned, sweet and gentle, and he gave the hunter's hand a reassuring squeeze as he replied quietly, "You are welcome."

Neither moved or said a word for a few long moments. Then, ever so slowly, Zero let go and Kaname complied, albeit reluctantly. The pureblood retreated to the door and, with another warm smile and a soft _'_ _Good night_ _'_ , he left.

"...Good night…" Zero replied absent-mindedly, his gaze never leaving the closed door.

**-** **o-**

Somehow everything around felt a bit different to Ichiru when he woke up. He couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was that had changed, but it had – he knew it had, felt it with every fiber of his being that suddenly felt so...awake and aware...So much so that the familiar world around him seemed somewhat new and unknown all of a sudden.

Ichiru blinked, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling before him unseeingly.

It was dark, but he saw everything perfectly. Nothing new – he was a vampire, after all, so he was used to it, but…

It was like his eyesight had gotten even better and clearer during his long – at least it did seem like quite a long while to him somehow – rest.

Another blink, some clarity returning to lilac eyes. Absently, Ichiru wondered where he was.

Pale fingers twitched. Ichiru knew they were his, he had felt them move, but they still felt foreign to him for some reason. He flattened his hand against the sheets beneath him and slowly moved it from one side to another, only now noticing how soft and silky the fabric under his fingertips was.

Still dazed violet orbs never shifted their attention from the ceiling as Ichiru continued to slowly explore.

He took a deep breath. As expected, the room was unfamiliar even in that regard. But among foreign scents that overwhelmed his senses, there was one…

 _'No, two…'_ Ichiru mentally corrected himself.

There were two distinct scents that he knew well. One Ichiru chose to disregard, cringing in obvious distaste, whereas the other…

He drew another deep breath, trying to separate that comforting, familiar scent from all the others, to concentrate on it, to embrace it. A small content smile made its way on Ichiru's lips, his form relaxed – it was only now that he realized how tense he had been.

He was there. Zero was there with him, right by his side, like always…

Slowly, Ichiru turned his head to the side, and his smile immediately widened at the sight of Zero sleeping peacefully next to him. For a while, he just watched his other half's relaxed features, carefully taking in every detail as though it was the first time he laid his eyes on his twin. Then he turned over and rose to his hands and knees, hovering over Zero's unconscious form. For another while, Ichiru lost himself in studying every bit of his counterpart's familiar features.

But at some point a no less familiar sound caught his attention, and Ichiru's gaze slowly lowered to stop at Zero's chest.

Violet eyes blinked in wonder, their owner's head titling slightly to the side.

For a few long, long moments, Ichiru just stared, as though hypnotized. Then, ever so slowly, he lowered himself to lean his head on Zero's evenly rising and falling chest, his ear pressed to it.

And he listened.

Listened.

And listened.

Closing his eyes, Ichiru let out a deep sigh, carefully lay down atop his twin so as not to disturb his rest and enclosed him in a tight yet gentle embrace. And he continued to listen to the somewhat soothing sound of his other half's steady heartbeat, a small contented smile making its way on his face.

That was exactly how Zero found Ichiru a few minutes later upon waking up.

Hazy amethyst eyes blinked, a faint frown creased the older teen's features.

_'Ichiru…?'_

Zero's hands automatically moved to stroke Ichiru's silver hair in spite of his still pretty much half-asleep state.

Ichiru sighed contentedly at the contact and rubbed his cheek against Zero's chest, his arms tightened around his counterpart's form.

"Ichiru?" Zero called softly, his fingers continuing to glide through his twin's silky strands gently.

Ichiru only hummed lazily in response, never opening his eyes.

Zero couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle at his counterpart's endearing behavior. "Are you alright?"

Another lazy _'Hmm?'_ sounded from Ichiru before he raised his head and gave an actual reply, "Never better." Blinking, he tilted his head to the side and asked, "Why?"

"...What's the last thing you remember, Ichiru?"

Ichiru frowned. "The hunt…"

"I see...Then…do you remember what happened?"

Ichiru's frown deepened. "I…" His gaze lowered, now thoughtful. He thought back to the hunt, trying to recall the events of that day, but…

Violet eyes widened with startling realization, and Ichiru slowly got up. He took a look around, only now paying attention to his surroundings for real. It didn't help him remember what had happened, nor find out how he had ended up where he was, but at least...

"I don't," Ichiru replied at long last, returning his attention to Zero, who was now sitting up as well. "But I'm guessing it wasn't anything nice, since it was probably what led us here, to the Moon Dorms, of all places."

That took Zero by surprise.

"How did you…"

But then again, it was _Ichiru_ , after all. Always the quietly observant one, always his quick-witted self no matter what.

With a small smile, Zero shook his head, "No, never mind." He stretched his hand out to pet his twin's head. "I'm glad you're okay."

Ichiru sat still, quietly watching his other half and secretly reveling in pure affection and relief he could see written on Zero's face.

His heartbeat quickened.

Slowly, carefully, Ichiru took Zero's hand and brought it to his cheek, his eyes closing and a soft sigh of content escaping him.

"I'm sorry, nii-san," Ichiru said after some while of silence. He opened his eyes and lifted his gaze before continuing, "Sorry for making you worry again."

Ichiru honestly had no idea what exactly he was apologizing for, but he did so because he felt the need to. He could tell he had caused his twin great distress – even if he hadn't meant to. After all, it was always like that. Zero would always worry about him and his well-being, and the sentiment would always be mutual. In that regard, they couldn't be more alike.

A tender smile came to Ichiru's lips at the thought. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Zero's palm, taking in a deep breath.

Ichiru's heartbeat quickened further.

Unconsciously, he shifted his attentions to the pale wrist just millimeters away from his lips, mouthing it slowly, carefully. His heart skipped a beat and his head became somewhat dizzy, a small frown marred his features as he tried to steady himself.

Violet eyes half opened, now hazy and with crimson slowly creeping into them. As Ichiru pulled away a bit, his gaze shifted to the smooth, porcelain skin right in front of him. He blinked in fascination, his head tilting slightly to the side as a beautiful, intricate map of life spread out before his very eyes.

He idly wondered what it would feel like to touch every thin line there, to bite into every thriving blood vessel, then follow the path to the very core that would be the heart and…

_What would it feel like to tear it out and drain it of its every drop of blood…?_

Ichiru's form went completely rigid, his eyes widened in horror – red in them disappearing altogether.

"Ichiru...?" sounded Zero's familiar voice with first bits of incipient worry evident in it. "What is it, Ichiru?"

Ichiru didn't reply – he couldn't.

'What…'

Blinking, the younger teen came out of his momentary daze. He looked at the wrist before him as though he was seeing it for the first time.

'What in the world…'

Lilac eyes followed a path from the wrist in his hold along a sleeve covering his brother's arm. It was normal, nothing out of the ordinary – no intertwined rivulets calling out to him, tempting him, no pulsating blood vessels right on the surface for him to drain.

'...was _that_ …?'

When Ichiru's gaze shifted to Zero's chest, he got his confirmation. _There was nothing wrong with him, nothing out of the ordinary...Right…?_

There was no way he could just... _see_ someone's _insides_ like that. It had been an illusion, right? It _must_ have been…

"Ichiru?" Zero called again, and Ichiru started. "What's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Ichiru met Zero's worried gaze. "Nii-san, I…"

He...what? What was he supposed to say? He didn't even know what... _that_ had been. And...had it even been _real_?

"I…" Lowering his gaze, Ichiru unconsciously squeezed Zero's hand that he only now realized he was still holding. Silence settled between the two for a few long seconds. Then, slowly breathing out, Ichiru continued with a shake of his head, "No...It's nothing, nii-san."

Zero frowned, nowhere near reassured by his brother's words. But before he could voice his doubtful thoughts, Ichiru spoke again, "I guess I'm just a bit tired and confused...that's all." Lilac eyes met his once more, and Zero could see the usual clarity and calm within them. That, along with a soft smile gracing his other half's features certainly helped ease his worry a bit, but still…

"...Are you sure?" Zero asked, even though he knew that the answer he would get would more than likely be only half-truth.

Ichiru's smile widened, his eyes warm and alive with tenderness. "Mm," he nodded.

_There was nothing wrong with him..._

Ichiru shifted closer to Zero and reached for the back of his counterpart's neck with his free hand. Gently, he pulled Zero towards himself, their foreheads now touching. "I really am fine." At least for now… "So stop worrying, nii-san."

_He was okay. Or, at the very least, he would be._

_...Right…?_

**-o-**

"What was that just now?" Aidou jumped up from an armchair he had been quietly reclining in reading one of his books, his gaze directed upstairs. "Creepy. I almost feel sick," he added, an unpleasant shudder going down his spine at the mere memory of the sickening feeling he had gotten just moments before.

"Hmm?" Kain drawled lazily before asking with a small frown, "What are you talking about, Hanabusa? I didn't feel anything."

" _Huh_?!" Aidou exclaimed exasperatedly, his turquoise eyes wide with baffled shock. "What are _you_ talking about, Akatsuki? How could anyone miss _that_?!"

"Explain what _'that'_ is, and maybe then I will be able to answer that question," the fiery-haired noble replied, calm as ever.

Which couldn't be said about his cousin, who was getting more frustrated by the second. " _'That'_ is _'that'_!"

A skeptical eyebrow rose. "Yeah, very detailed. And even more intelligible."

"Argh! You're such an insensitive idiot! And you call yourself a noble vampire?!" Aidou continued with an accusatory finger pointed at his still unimpressed cousin.

"I don't call myself anything. I _am_ a noble vampire. That _is_ my social status, after all, in case you forgot."

"I didn't forget anything! I'm telling you you're a shame to our glorious race!"

' _'Glorious race'_? Really now…' Kain heaved a deep sigh, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Whatever, Hanabusa," he replied, trying to change the subject – he knew very well that it would be so much easier that way. "Just tell me what it was that got you so agitated and get it over with."

"I _have_ told you already! Haven't you been listening to me?" This time it was an accusatory look that Aidou sent Kain's way as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Another deep, deep sigh came from the fiery-haired vampire. "I believe I have." Which he probably shouldn't have, since it wouldn't matter anyway.

"Well, then-"

"It felt a bit like Kaname," sounded Ichijou's voice as he entered the lounge room the two cousins were occupying. Kain heaved an involuntary sigh of relief. Never in his life had he been so happy to see Ichijou. "Maybe you somehow angered him _again_ , Aidou-kun?" the older blond finished with his usual cheery smile.

"Wha-! I didn't do anything!" Aidou immediately denied the suggested idea, offended. "And besides, it wasn't Kaname-sama! Even when angered, he doesn't feel like that at all!" Then Aidou's posture changed and he actually looked proud for reasons Kain couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Trust me, I know!" the younger blond finished, nodding to himself with an almost triumphant smile on his face.

Kain gave another sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. How could _anyone_ in their right mind consider _that_ a genius?

Ichijou let out a hearty chuckle, genuinely amused by both cousins and their reactions. It was always so much fun to be with them. "If you say so, Aidou-kun. But…" tilting his head slightly to the side, Ichijou asked, "What was it then?"

Seriousness returned to Aidou's features as he pondered the question before answering, "I don't know...But I don't think it was a pureblood. It felt different…" He frowned deeply, continuing, "More like a Level E mixed with something akin to a pureblood," the blond concluded, involuntarily shuddering at the mere idea. "Disgusting…" he added, in a lower tone.

Kain remained silent while Ichijou only hummed thoughtfully before inquiring, "You think so?"

Aidou's reply was immediate, "Of course I do. It _is_ disgusting. And it feels so, too."

"Maybe, but it's so interesting!" Ichijou exclaimed, excited all of a sudden.

"You meant to say 'disturbing'. Just imagine what a Level E with a pureblood's abilities or a pureblood with a Level E's insanity and lack of control could do."

"Well, that certainly _is_ scary," Ichijou replied with a sheepish laugh. "But that is what makes it so exciting, wouldn't you agree?" He finished, his ever-present smile never leaving his features.

"...You do have some weird tastes, Ichijou."

"Yeah," the older blond nodded before adding cheerily, "that I know."

**-** **o-**

In a secluded mansion somewhere far, far away in the middle of thick forests, Hiou Shizuka stood in her favorite garden of ever-blooming cherry blossoms watching the full moon high up in the night sky.

A small sigh sounded, pink eyes slid shut. A soft smile came to Shizuka's lips as a slight breeze caressed her face and played with her long silver hair. "What a pleasant night…" she said thoughtfully, "wouldn't you agree, my dear Maria?"

Kurenai Maria jumped a bit, startled, her eyes widening and a light blush coming to her cheeks. "Y-you have noticed my presence, Shizuka-sama…" she responded quietly, her gaze lowered in embarrassment. "I'm sorry…"

Shizuka let out a soft chuckle. Looking over her shoulder at the younger girl, she replied, "Whatever for, child? You did nothing wrong."

Maria didn't say anything, still blushing and unable to meet her pureblood relative's gaze.

Another chuckle sounded, then Shizuka asked, "What is on your mind, child? You have been standing there for quite some time without saying a word…"

"I...I'm sorry, Shizuka-sama, it's just that...you seemed preoccupied, so I…I didn't want to disturb you…" the girl finished, looking up shyly.

"Is that so…" yet another small chuckle came from the pureblood before she continued, "Well, I suppose you are right. There _is_ something on my mind..."

"If I may ask…" Maria started, unable to hold back. But she faltered when somewhat amused pink orbs turned their attention to her, and instead of finishing her thought, she lowered her gaze again and said, "No...it's nothing…"

Shizuka's smile widened in amusement. Wordlessly, she returned her attention to the sky above her to appreciate the moon's beauty anew.

Complete silence settled over the place.

It was only after some while that Shizuka chose to disturb it with her next words.

"Some years ago I met a child…an adorable, sweet, but very sad, sad child – a hunter child...In spite of his heritage, he was weak and sickly, and he didn't have a lot of time left to live. So he asked me to save his life and make him stronger, never actually hoping that I would agree – he was a very smart child even at his tender age, after all, and I believe he knew the odds of a pureblood vampire granting that wish of his…"

Contemplative silence followed, and when it stretched a bit, Maria asked carefully, "And...did you...?"

Shizuka's gaze lowered, thoughtful. "I did."

Maria's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean...you gave him your blood?"

There was a nod, then an actual reply sounded, "That, too."

' _'Too'_ …? Then…'

"I have never met anyone more suited to be a vampire. I believe it would not be an understatement to say that he was born to become one of us. So I gave him a new life. And I did it right after I murdered his parents."

Maria froze, shocked.

Shizuka continued, "Due to his fragility and poor health, he could...no, I believe he _should_ have died from the bite. But he survived, and he got stronger."

"That hunter child...Where is he now?" Maria inquired.

"That is exactly what I have been wondering...how my dear children are doing and where they are…"

At that a puzzled frown crossed Maria's features. "'Children'…?" she repeated, her head tilting to the side in a wordless inquiry.

"He had a brother, that hunter child. A twin brother," the pureblood woman explained.

'Hunter twins...then…' Maria finished her thought out loud, "You are talking about the cursed twins of the Kiryuu clan, Shizuka-sama...?"

"'Cursed', you say…" Shizuka let out a small chuckle, both amused and bitter. "Indeed...I suppose they _are_ cursed...in a way…"

"...The other one…did you…?"

Shizuka shook her head, "No, I never bit him."

"Eh? But...why?"

"Because such was our agreement with the younger boy," Shizuka explained before adding with a soft smile, "And although I did not turn the elder one, for some reason I cannot help considering him my other poor little son…"

_For the darkness would eventually consume him, too. And he would accept it, because there would be no other choice left…_

"Perhaps...I should consider paying my two dear boys a visit sometime soon…"


	22. Slow Burn

 

'Thump…thump...thump'

_He was surrounded by thick, thick darkness once again, but unlike all the other times, it wasn't as cold and unwelcoming as it had been before. On the contrary, there was something…calming and almost familiar about it. And..._

'Thump...thump...thump...'

_Ichiru closed his eyes, a small content smile coming to his relaxed features._

'Nii-san…'

_Even though there was no way to actually tell for sure, Ichiru knew it was his other half's heartbeat quietly echoing in his ears. Steady, strong, calming...He had liked listening to it from long ago, since their childhood, probably. But somehow that more than likely a bit weird little habit of his had taken a new turn as of late, its calming effect intensifying considerably._

_Ichiru wondered idly on that slight change. But it didn't really disturb him in any way, so he chose not to ponder on the matter for very long. Especially since…_

_Lilac eyes narrowed, all peacefulness disappeared from now tense, guarded features as Ichiru asked coldly, "Who is there?"_

_There was a chuckle – dark and deeply amused. Even though its source still hadn't come into view, Ichiru already felt repulsed for some reason._

_"Ah, the amusement. How entertaining the two of you are, little hunters." The unknown voice sounded before its owner's form started emerging from thick darkness. It was a weird feeling, really. To see nothing but another person's form surrounded by blackness. But for some reason Ichiru couldn't be bothered enough to ponder on that undeniably peculiar subject for longer than a couple of hazy seconds._

_"Although...I suppose you are not as much of a hunter as you are a vampire now...wouldn't you agree, little one?" The one in front of Ichiru finished, now completely in his view._

_It was a man. One Ichiru was sure he didn't know, but for some reason, he seemed awfully familiar. And his appearance..._

_Lilac eyes narrowed further, darkening. Now it wasn't only the man's voice that annoyed him, but the looks as well. For..._

_"It makes me sick how much you look like that bastard," Ichiru said straight away without even thinking about holding back when talking to someone he was sure he was seeing for the first time in his life._

_"Oh? By 'that bastard'...you are referring to Kaname, I suppose?"_

_Ichiru gave a derisive snort before replying, "Who else?"_

_There was a chuckle. "I see my dear nephew's popularity with you still hasn't improved."_

''Nephew'…?' _Ichiru repeated internally, tilting his head slightly to the side with a frown._

 _"Not that I don't understand_ the reason _for your dislike towards him…"_

'Then...could it be…?' _the hunter pondered, realization beginning to dawn on him._

 _"Still, I feel sorry for poor little Kaname," the unknown man continued with his dark smirk never faltering, his tone condescending. Ichiru could tell there wasn't even a fraction of sincerity in his words. "He_ is _already having quite a hard time dealing with everything as it is."_

_Lilac eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It was you," Ichiru stated firmly. "You were the one harassing Zero this whole time."_

_A perfect dark eyebrow rose at that, then the man replied, "'Harassing'…? I wouldn't go so far as to call it that. I was just…" his smirk widened further, turning maliciously lecherous now, "trying to get acquainted with him, seeing how unusually and_ carelessly _interested my dear nephew is in him."_

 _Ichiru felt his brow twitch in annoyance._ 'Damn Kuran and his obviousness…' _he thought grumpily._

 _Then he said, "You and your_ 'dear nephew' _should mind your own damn businesses and keep out of other people's life."_

_"Oh, but that is just so boring," the man gave his reply, unfazed, "wouldn't you agree?"_

_"I wouldn't," Ichiru shot back without a moment's hesitation. "And who the hell are you anyway?"_

_"Ah, right…" There was another chuckle, then the man made a dramatic display of putting his hand on his chest and shaking his head in feigned regret, "How rude of me."_

_Ichiru's irritation continued to increase rapidly._

'To think there was someone even _more_ annoying than Kuran…' _Admittedly, though, this one was a whole different kind of 'annoying'._

_"I am Kuran Rido," the man continued, finally giving his name. "It is nice to meet you, little one."_

'Of course…' _Ichiru thought in distaste, his steely eyes narrowing._ 'Another one…'

 _"And what the hell are you doing_ here _?" Wherever that 'here' was._

_Rido let out another annoying chuckle before granting Ichiru with an actual reply, "Why, I am here because I believe it is time for us to get officially acquainted...wouldn't you agree?"_

_There was a long moment of silence. Then Ichiru said coldly, "Yes...I would."_

**-o-**

Restless, Kaname was lying in his bed, unsuccessfully trying to get himself to fall asleep – something he had been doing for what felt to him like an impossibly long while.

Irritated with himself by now, the pureblood let out a long, heavy sigh and turned to his side, his burgundy eyes closing. He was completely still, somewhat rigid even, as he was lying there in the almost deafening quiet of his spacious room.

He wanted to rest. He _just_ wanted to rest. For once, he did not want to think, he did not want to feel, he did not want to be his by now usual ridiculous self at the moment. All he wanted was at least _some_ peaceful rest both for his mind and body. Even though he was more than certain that his stupid thoughts would still continue pestering him even in his sleep.

Another long while. Another failed attempt.

With another heavy sigh, Kaname turned around to rest on his other side.

In all truth, this was seriously getting on his nerves.

Why couldn't his brain just shut down – and thus _shut up_ – for once? Why did it _always_ have to _think_? Why did it _always_ have to race with all kinds of thoughts – often _unnecessary_ ones at that – and doubts and possibilities and _images_ …? _Why_ could it never just _stop_? And most importantly… _why_ couldn't it just go numb and allow him to forget _certain_ occurrences, sensations and all the feelings and forbidden thoughts those same sensations during those same occurrences caused...? Why did it have to be so sharp as to _memorize_ everything in _smallest detail_? Why in the world…did _both_ his stupid uncontrollable heart _and_ his sometimes inconveniently perceptive and right now even more inconveniently uncooperative brain just _had to_ torture him like that…?

Another long, heavy sigh, now with frustration evident in it.

Once again, Kaname turned to rest on his other side, almost curling into himself and burying himself under thick blankets, a small frown crossing his tense features.

But even as he continued to grumpily curse every part of his stupid – as he deemed it to be – being, the thoughts never stopped, the images never ceased flowing through his head, the sensations never vanished, the feelings never settled down.

All because of a few brief – even if they hadn't seemed that at the time – moments that had taken place mere hours prior.

_A few brief moments of sudden closeness, of unexpected and somewhat innocent intimacy…_

Kaname could _still_ feel the gentle, hesitant touch of Zero's uncertain fingers on his aroused fangs that _still_ tingled with elated excitement. He could _still_ feel the intent, curious gaze of those clear amethyst eyes on his features. His skin _still_ burned at the mere remembrance of that gaze. His heart _still_ couldn't calm down from a mere ghost of those sensations. And his brain kept torturing him by replaying the whole experience over and over again in his head.

And all along, Kaname couldn't stop wondering…

_What had been the meaning of all that?_

_What had been the reason for Zero's sudden – to say the least – actions?_

_What…was_ he _supposed to do now…?_

Was _he even supposed to do anything…?_

 _How…was he supposed to act_ now _…?_

Kaname didn't know the answers to those questions. He was lost.

Well, nothing new there – to Kaname's resigned frustration, he was gradually getting used to feeling that way whenever it came to Zero. But…

It was a whole new level of 'lost' this time around. And Kaname had no idea how to take this new development and what to do about it.

Thus, for now…all he really wanted to do was _calm down_ , get some much-needed rest and _clear his head_.

Another deep, frustrated sight escaped the pureblood as he squeezed his eyes further shut and curled into himself under the blankets some more.

Another stubborn attempt that Kaname prayed wouldn't end up being another frustrating failure.

**-o-**

It was a new night, and Ichiru was enjoying its quietness as he was patrolling the Cross Academy grounds – or tried to, at the very least, for his mind was somewhere far, far away, preoccupied with nothing in particular.

That seemed to have become his permanent state as of late. Constantly lost, always distracted and just… _not himself_ …

At least it felt to him that way for some reason, and he wasn't sure what his exact thoughts on the matter were.

Not that he was too bothered by it or any other latest… _events_ or _'encounters'_ …

It didn't matter. Nothingmattered, really. At least not anything that _wasn't_ his twin. Speaking of which…

Ichiru took a deep breath, closing his eyes and extending his senses to feel his other half's familiar presence. He detected it in a split second, somehow immediately knowing Zero's exact location, the direction he was headed in, the speed of his strides, the rhythm of his breathing, the rate of his pulse… He even thought he could actually _hear_ the quiet sound of his twin's soft footsteps.

Which was… _strange_ …to say the least.

They weren't that far away as it was, but it actually almost felt like Ichiru was there, right by Zero's side, secretly enjoying the sound of his steady heartbeat, feelinghis warmth, basking in his comforting presence and breathing in his soothing scent…

Ichiru froze, his heart skipping a beat as he _'saw'_ – at least so he thought – rather than _'felt'_ Zero come to an abrupt halt, tense all of a sudden, turn around and…

His eyes snapping open, Ichiru drew a sharp breath as he stumbled backwards a bit. He had to grab a nearby tree in order to regain his momentarily lost balance, his breathing coming out ragged and his head spinning a bit.

 _'What the-'_ Ichiru didn't get to finish his thought, distracted by one…

 _'No, two…'_ the teen mentally corrected himself.

There were two unexpected and very much unwanted presences nearby.

Lilac eyes narrowed, darkening as they shifted their attention to where Ichiru knew the intruders would be, hidden by thick trees and oblivious to the fact that they had been discovered. He could tell they were about a couple of minutes away from him, and they were slowly but steadily getting farther...

But that was okay. He was close enough. And he knew their exact location, so getting rid of them wouldn't take too long.

_But then again…_

For a very long moment there, Ichiru seriously considered leaving the two idiots of intruders be. What did he care anyway? They could go ahead and get bitten and drained and turned and killed and whatever – quite frankly, _he_ wouldn't give a damn about it. However…

 _Zero_ would. So the decision was already made for Ichiru.

Tsking in irritation, the teen gave up on the idea – and strong desire – to go to his brother's side for the time being and headed for the two unwanted presences.

It took Ichiru seconds to find the intruders. As expected, it was a couple of day class fangirls who were there to get a glimpse of their _'idols'_.

 _'Oblivious idiots,'_ Ichiru couldn't help snickering derisively. _'If only they knew…'_

But then again, he guessed that even in _that_ case there still _would_ be some hormone-crazed starry-eyed fools _dying_ to get devoured – in every sense of the word – by their _'dark princes'_ and all that crap. Their blindness and shallowness _would_ lead them there. And realization of their grave mistake would come _way_ too late, costing them their lives in the end.

Not that it bothered Ichiru in the slightest.

"Hey," the teen called out, startling the girls, "you two, get back to your rooms this instant."

The pair turned around sharply with surprised gasps, their expressions clearly showing their initial panic and resigned disappointment at hearing his voice. But as they saw who _exactly_ it was before them, they seemed to calm down somewhat.

Ichiru sneered internally at the reaction. He could tell the two fangirls had initially mistaken him for Zero – thus the panic. But then their eyes had told them otherwise, so they had quite literally breathed a sigh of relief, probably thinking that they would be able to get off the hook, since it was the younger of the twins.

Ichiru gave a derisive snort.

The girls were in for some disappointment.

Sure, usually Ichiru played along with their idiocy just for the heck of it, but that wasn't the case this time.

"Ichiru-kun…" the two girls whose names Ichiru neither knew nor was even interested in learning breathed out with relieved smiles on their faces. "Don't scare us like that! We thought it was your brother!" one of them finished with a hint of teasing accusation in her tone while the other one giggled.

Ichiru felt his brow twitch in irritation. "Didn't you hear me?" he said sternly, "Get the hell back to your rooms. _Now_."

The two girls blinked simultaneously, taken aback. Their high spirits and courage dimmed noticeably – Ichiru could see the change, and he actually got a kind of spiteful satisfaction from it.

Still, the girls actually managed to find it in themselves to _try_ …

"C-come on, Ichiru-kun…Don't be like that…" one of them started hesitantly with an uncertain smile.

"Y-yeah, we just want to take a peek at them! We won't do anything to cause trouble…" the other one supported her friend with a bit more confidence.

"Your presence alone _is_ trouble," Ichiru replied coldly. "Now, do as you're told and _leave_."

"Aw, you don't mean _that_ , Ichiru-kun…" the more confident – and probably more thick-headed and oblivious one – said back in a sickly sweet tone, smiling and battling her eyelashes at Ichiru.

One unimpressed silver eyebrow rose.

Was she seriously trying to _flirt_ their way through him…?

Oh, _God_ …

Now, _that_ along with the fact that this stupid annoying girl even allowed the mere _thought_ that the attempt would actually succeed cross her empty head was just insulting.

Lilac eyes darkened, there was a subtle drop in temperature around Ichiru. The hunter doubted his irritation was hard to notice – he didn't even try to hide it, after all.

Yet the foolish girl was _still_ talking to him and _still_ trying to get him to yield with her pathetic attempts at charming him – if it even could be called _that_.

Ichiru's patience started wearing thin.

Which, if one thought about it, was rather uncharacteristic when it came to the younger twin. Indifferent as he always was towards all the fangirls, he never got _this_ frustrated with any of them and their whining complaining selves. On the contrary, he was the one who always stayed calm no matter what and just played with them for the sake of his own derisive amusement. Whereas now…

If Ichiru took a step back and analyzed the situation, he most likely would have found his own behavior more than just a bit out of character.

But that wasn't the case at the moment. Ichiru didn't want to analyze anything and he sure as hell _didn't_ want to have to deal with these _annoying ignorant idiots_ before him.

He was just _not in the mood_.

That strange, incomprehensible _calm_ Ichiru had been experiencing for the last few days retreated, now replaced by an unmistakable feeling of frustration. He was surprised to find how new the rather familiar emotion suddenly felt.

…And the girls – both of them by now – _still_ hadn't shut up. And they were _still_ standing before him for reasons Ichiru couldn't comprehend. Did they _like_ getting on his nerves?

"Are you two deaf?" Ichiru all but hissed out the question menacingly, immediately stopping all the unnecessary blabbering that had been abusing his ears for the last couple of minutes or so – too long a while in his opinion. "I said _get lost_. _Now_."

The tone as well as the look Ichiru had spoken those words with made the girls shudder in what the hunter knew was apprehension. He could feel it, _smell_ it in the air even. And strangely enough…

Ichiru was kind of _enjoying_ it…

But the feeling disappeared almost instantly, replaced by irritation yet again when one of the girls – the foolishly _brave_ one – spoke again.

"W-what's with that attitude?!" she tried to express her indignation as confidently as possible. "You don't have to be so rude! We just-"

Violet eyes darkened, narrowing. There was a slight shift in the air and the temperature dropped further. This time, even two human girls could feel it, even if they had no idea what exactly that _'it'_ was.

Unconsciously, Ichiru took a slow step forward. His fingers twitched, his pulse raced. His vision suddenly got so much clearer and-

_His fangs lengthened, a threatening growl rumbled out of his throat._

The two day class girls' eyes widened in disbelief and rapidly settling horror, shocked gasps the only sounds they could produce as they clutched each other's arms, their forms starting to tremble uncontrollably.

_He took another step forward._

With an effort, the two girls managed to make themselves move a small step back on unsteady, almost completely paralyzed legs.

_He stretched his fingers, feeling the nails change into something sharper and deadlier._

_He could see the two terrified sources of blood before him were trying to_ say _something, as he believed their mouths were moving slightly, but he couldn't hear them – he couldn't hear_ anything _other than their dangerously rapid heartbeats. Ah, what a sound_ that _was…_

In their numb minds, the poor girls knew they needed to run at breakneck speed, to _escape_. But their bodies were a different matter altogether. The two couldn't move a single muscle, couldn't make a sound, couldn't even _blink_. All they could do was remain where they were, frozen in place, and tremble with fear and confused disbelief at the surreal sight before them.

_His fingers just itched to tear the stupid humans apart, and his talons were bloodthirsty and ready to rip into warm, soft flesh, when all of a sudden…_

_His senses detected two…no,_ three _…other presences nearby – all familiar, one of them despicable._

_He stopped his movements altogether, every muscle in his body tense. He was ready to launch an attack any second._

"Ichiru-kun…"

 _Ichiru thought he heard an unpleasantly familiar voice of one Kuran Kaname. It seemed…so far away for some reason, even though he_ knew _the pureblood was there – he could_ feel _his presence, he even thought…no, he was_ sure _he was actually looking at the man right now._

_What in the world was happening to him…?_

"Ichiru-kun," Kaname tried again, unsuccessfully, while Ichijou and Seiren were taking care of the two day class girls behind him, putting them to sleep and taking them away. Meanwhile, Ichiru remained still and unresponsive, and it was starting to worry Kaname quite a bit.

The pureblood frowned, about to take a step towards Ichiru, when the hunter suddenly looked up and almost literally pinned him in place with his blazing crimson orbs.

Kaname tensed, instinctively knowing what would come in response to one wrong move. So he chose to avoid making any for now.

"Kuran…" Ichiru's voice sounded, same as always yet somewhat…different...as though it wasn't quite the boy Kaname had known for years now.

Ichiru's gaze shifted a bit in response to two new presences behind him. A hint of a dark smirk crossed the hunter's features as he added, "And your lackeys…" Swirling with vivid red eyes returned their attention to Kaname, and Ichiru continued somewhat mockingly, "They just can _never_ leave you alone…now, can they?"

Ichiru unconsciously flexed his still clawed fingers. Kaname didn't miss the action.

Garnet eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I strongly suggest you calm down and come with me now, Ichiru-kun," Kaname said, his tone calm and even, but there was clear warning in it.

One Ichiru didn't miss. Neither did Aidou and Kain who had arrived just moments before.

Ichiru's dark smirk widened, cold and sinister, crimson eyes flashed as the teen replied, "And I _'strongly suggest'_ you shut it and leave me the hell alone, Kuran. _And_ …" His gaze flickered sideways for a brief moment, his fingers flexed again.

Kaname involuntarily tensed at the actions, his eyes widened in sudden realization of _what_ exactly had attracted Ichiru's attention just a second ago.

A wave of apprehension washed over the pureblood for unknown to him reasons.

"…that you keep your _dogs_ on a shorter leash…" Ichiru finished before disappearing from sight.

It was at that moment that another realization dawned on Kaname. But it was a split second too late.

Aidou's eyes widened, blazing crimson in them dying down to give way to their natural turquoise color, his intense annoyance with Ichiru and his not at all surprising but still no less infuriating than usual attitude momentarily forgotten, now replaced by shock, when the hunter in question suddenly vanished, avoiding getting literally frozen to the ground at the very last fraction of a second.

Everything went still for one excruciatingly long moment. No one breathed, suddenly taken over by an overwhelming sense of paralyzing unease. Then…

_It all happened impossibly fast._

Ichiru materialized out of nowhere, and the only indication Aidou got of the hunter's dangerous presence behind him was a sound of even breathing right beside his ear. It sent a violent shudder down the blond's spine. And then he realized...

Turquoise eyes widened further with fear.

 _There...was a hand on his back...And all Aidou could think about was how_ precisely _it was placed right where his heart was supposed to be..._

Ichiru's fingers curled a bit and he started to _push_.

Aidou's pulse raced. He couldn't move, suddenly paralyzed by pure fear and a suffocating, invisible hold over him.

Kain's instincts and lightning reflexes were the only reason Aidou managed to get out of that situation unscathed.

There was a startled yelp of pain.

Well, _almost_ unscathed…

" _Damn it_ , Akatsuki!" Aidou exclaimed indignantly as he jumped away from his cousin and distinguished the fire on his back with an accusatory look on his scowling face. "That hurt!"

"Better that than the alternative," Kain replied sternly with a rare frown on his features. "Now shut up and try not to get yourself into any _more_ trouble, you idiot."

"W-wha-!?" Aidou's complains were cut short by a sharp slap that almost sent the blond crashing into a nearby tree. But he somehow managed to maintain his balance, albeit barely.

Looking up, Aidou wasn't surprised to find his beloved pureblood leader before him. And as expected, Kaname was angry with him. _Again_.

Aidou was about to open his mouth and offer an apology for whatever it was he had done wrong to displease his prince _this time_ , but he wasn't even given a chance to do it.

"Do _not_ speak, Aidou," Kaname said in a cold and almost frighteningly calm and measured tone. "I will deal with you later."

Not waiting for any kind of response – and not really needing it anyway – from the blond, Kaname returned his attention to Ichiru who was still there, quietly observing them from a distance with his dark smirk still firmly in place.

To say that the boy's behavior was disturbing would be an understatement.

Kaname's brows drew together in a thoughtful frown.

Ichiru tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes flashed brighter for a brief moment, his fingers flexed once again.

Kaname instinctively tensed at the last more than likely unconscious action. He already knew what was coming next – he _felt_ it with his skin.

Ichiru took a slow step forward.

Burgundy eyes flashed, narrowing. Kaname prepared himself for an oncoming attack.

However…

All of a sudden, Ichiru froze. His smirk disappeared and his expression changed to one of surprise. He was about to turn around and confirm for himself what his senses had alarmed him about, when…

 _"Ichiru, run!"_ It was Zero's voice, filled with urgency and worry, the reason for which became clear the next second.

A gunshot rang out.

Ichiru turned around, mentally cursing his carelessness and already bracing himself for the excruciating pain that he knew would inevitably come.

The bullet pierced the flesh. And the pain _was_ excruciating. But it wasn't Ichiru who was currently suffering from it.

In the distance, Zero stopped dead in his tracks on his way towards the group. Amethyst eyes widened in shock.

"Kaname-sama!" Aidou cried, distress written all over his face as he hurried to his precious leader's side.

"Kaname!" That was Ichijou who had returned immediately after catching a whiff of his childhood friend's unique pure blood. And together with him…

"Seiren," Kaname called, clutching his injured shoulder and barely managing to keep the pain he was experiencing from fully taking over his features. " _Don't_."

Seiren was back as well, her arm stretched out with her nails a split second away from piercing one Takamiya Kaito's throat. Which she _would have_ done the second she had arrived, had the hunter not been fast enough to point his gun at her head before she could actually do so.

"Oh, no, go ahead," Kaito said, unfazed, never taking his eyes off the girl that was his new target. "Come on, _vampire_ , give me an excuse…" _He would shoot her brains out if her fingers so much as_ twitched _._

" _Seiren_ ," Kaname warned, and that was enough to make the girl back down, albeit reluctantly and only after some careful consideration.

Kaname breathed a sigh of relief. But then a huge wave of pain caused by the bullet still embedded in his flesh washed over him, and he clutched his shoulder tighter with a low hiss.

"Kaname…" Zero approached the pureblood, his worry evident in both his voice and countenance.

And for one long moment, Kaname actually forgot all about the rapidly intensifying quiet torture his body was going through. He tried to give Zero a reassuring smile, but extreme discomfort written all over his face didn't let the attempt succeed.

 _'Damn it,'_ Kaname mentally cursed, uncharacteristically, as another sudden wave of throbbing pain attacked. He screwed his eyes shut with a groan, unconsciously tightening his hold on his wounded shoulder.

Somehow he felt... _weak_ and _unsteady_...all of a sudden. It was new to him, to say the least. Never in his life had he felt... _this_ vulnerable. And that scared him.

"Kaname…!" the pureblood heard Zero call his name again, his voice laced with more concern and what seemed to Kaname like panic – if his mind wasn't playing cruel tricks on him by choosing to follow his wishful thinking instead of reality. Then there were warm, gentle arms that surrounded him carefully, caringly, saving him, as Kaname realized a second or so later, from the fall.

"Take him to our house and treat his wound, Zero-kun," Cross's voice sounded all of a sudden, surprising everyone. "Get going now. I will take care of everything else." The seriousness the man spoke with only added to the shock of his presence. It was rare, to say the least, that the eccentric man switched off his 'ever-happy idiot' mode to change into his long-forgotten 'deadly hunter' mode. And a brief thought that maybe it was for the better actually passed through everyone's mind. For the pressure that suddenly unknown yet still familiar man was exerting was immense, not to mention unbearable.

"Okay," Zero replied with a nod. But before he could leave with Kaname, the said pureblood spoke.

"Takuma…"

The blond looked up at his friend and leader, and it was only now that Zero noticed how tense he was and how brightly the normally kind green eyes were burning with violent red. And it wasn't only Ichijou, Zero realized upon quick inspection of the rest of the nobles, who was in such condition.

"Yes, Kaname-sama," Takuma replied in an uncharacteristically strained voice that Zero didn't fail to pick up on.

"Go back to the Moon Dormitory. You know what to do," Kaname gave an order, and Ichijou was gone the next second after wordlessly giving his prince a bow.

"Come on," Zero shifted to get into a more comfortable for walking while supporting someone else's weight position. "Let's get going," he said and Kaname didn't protest.

**-o-**

There was a hiss.

Zero gave Kaname another apologetic look and a quiet _'Sorry'_ as he continued to carefully tend to his wound.

"It's okay," Kaname replied. He tried to give Zero a reassuring smile, but the attempt failed miserably as his features contorted in pain and another small hiss escaped him.

Zero bit his lip, his guilt increasing. "Almost done. Just bear with it a bit more," he said softly, looking at the pureblood before him almost imploringly.

"Mm," Kaname automatically gave a slow, absent-minded nod, forgetting all about the burning pain in his shoulder for a few long moments, "Okay."

Obviously, Zero had no idea what that look was doing to Kaname. _But now was neither time nor place to let his thoughts go in_ that _direction_ , the brunet mentally scolded himself.

He closed his burgundy eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves along with his unruly hammering heart. That seemed to work, for the feeling of pain got prominent again, soon followed by the sting from whatever medical solution Zero was using to treat his wound.

 _'Well,'_ Kaname thought wryly, _'at least there is_ some _use in this hunter torture...'_

His body gave an involuntary start, another small hiss made it past his lips. Kaname mentally cursed himself for failing to suppress these signs of his pain and discomfort.

Another worried, apologetic look came from Zero, in response to which Kaname only managed to silently shake his head and give the boy a slightly distorted with pain encouraging smile.

Zero complied with Kaname's unvoiced wish and continued to work on the wound as carefully as he only could, until finally…

"Here," he said, pure relief evident in his voice and expression, "all done."

Kaname let out a shaky breath, glad that his pain had subsided somewhat, but mostly just quietly overjoyed to see Zero's smiling relieved face. And the mere fact that _he_ was the reason for all the emotions the teen was currently experiencing only added to his secret delight.

"Now the only thing left to do is…" the silver-haired teen spoke again, putting all the medical supplies back into the box they had come from and closing it, before...

Burgundy eyes widened. Unconsciously, Kaname drew a deep, shaky breath, his heart raced anew in shameful anticipation.

Grabbing one of Zero's wrists tightly, the pureblood, asked, "Zero-kun, what…" he had to pause to let his suddenly agitated lungs breathe. For some reason, it was hard for them to manage to do that, Kaname realized. "What in the world are you trying to do?"

Zero blinked, his head tilting ever so slightly to the side. "What does it look like? I'm going to feed you, of course," he stated as though the answer couldn't be more obvious.

Kaname felt his fangs tingle and begin to slowly elongate in anticipation and thirst. His eyes flashed bright red. And Kaname knew Zero had noticed it. The amount of mortification that realization brought was immeasurable.

Ashamed, the pureblood lowered his gaze and took a deep, calming breath as inconspicuously as he only could. "No," he said, shaking his head, "you don't have to. I don't need it, so..." His eyes shifted to Zero's hand that he was still holding firmly by the wrist. "Put _that_ away."

By 'that' Kaname meant the knife Zero had fetched with the intention of cutting himself.

The pureblood's attention returned to the silver-haired teen's face, burgundy eyes now imploring as Kaname added, " _Please_..."

Zero sighed, his expression troubled.

There was a long moment of silence as the young hunter watched the pureblood before him contemplatively, internally battling with himself not to give in to those deep, soulful eyes that, as Zero had realized quite some while ago, were pretty damn hard to resist. And he honestly didn't want to do that and go against Kaname's wishes, _but_...

Another sigh. Closing his eyes, Zero silently shook his head.

Kaname already started to think that the teen would listen to him. And he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when...

"I guess you haven't noticed yet, but..."

Zero's hand was on his forehead the next moment, and Kaname froze. But in a second his shock at being touched was replaced with quiet wonder at how pleasantly cool Zero's skin felt on his. Then that same hand slowly went down to his cheek, and the pureblood couldn't help unconsciously leaning into its soft, soothing touch, his eyelids drooping a bit.

"You're burning up, Kaname," the hunter finished his thought with worry evident in his eyes and voice.

Hazy garnet eyes regained some of their focus at that statement. Kaname blinked, a small frown coming to his features as all he could muster in response was an ineloquent _'Huh?'_

"You have a fever."

"What?" Another blink on the pureblood's part, his expression turning to one of pure bewilderment. "No, that-...that is impossible, Zero-kun." It _was_ impossible. Literally. At least so Kaname thought and strongly believed. "I _cannot_ have a _fever_. I've _never_ had one."

Somehow Zero couldn't help but find Kaname's expression, disbelief and certainty in his own words endearing. Letting out a soft chuckle at the pureblood's reaction, the hunter replied with a small gentle smile, "Well, you _do_ now. So quit being your stubborn worrywart self for once and let _me_ help _you_ for a change, will you?"

"I'm not being-" Kaname's protests and any possible further attempts at it were cut short with one quick, smooth motion of Zero's hand as the teen gripped the knife in his hold tighter and made a clean cut on his palm with a low hiss and a pained twist to his expression that he failed to suppress.

Kaname froze, his form going impossibly rigid, his insides turning completely still for one long moment of deadly silence.

Zero let out a shaky breath, his now bleeding hand trembling slightly in the residual aftershock of the self-inflicted injury.

"Here..." the silver-haired teen outstretched his hand toward the stunned and still unable to function properly pureblood, palm up.

Kaname gulped, his lungs along with all the other organs of his body only now waking up from their momentary comatose to resume working anew. His breathing immediately becoming irregular, the pureblood stared at the blood-stained white skin before his burning with barely restrained hunger eyes, his heart racing in his chest, beating against his ribcage violently in what could only be a determined attempt to break free from its by now hateful confinement.

"Just..." It took Kaname an extra long couple of seconds to tear his eyes off the bleeding flesh offered to him. But he did so, albeit with undeniable difficulty, and just in time to see a soft encouraging smile grace Zero's features, replacing slight uncertainty that had been there previously. "Don't bite me, okay?"

Swallowing hard once more, Kaname could only nod wordlessly before returning his attention to the bleeding hand now in the gentle hold of his trembling fingers. Slowly, he closed the distance between his suddenly parched, ever so slightly quivering lips and the open wound.

There was a muffled groan. Kaname's fingers tightened around Zero's wrist. His initial hesitancy slowly receding, the pureblood sucked on the wound hard with barely suppressed greed, his form getting assaulted with uncontrollable tremors the moment the red liquid he never stopped craving came into contact with his taste buds. He felt euphoric and miserable at the same time, scared of what he was currently doing – of what _both of them_ were currently doing – yet unable to stop himself. Unlike Zero, he _knew_ what a dangerous little game they were playing, what a thin line they were walking at these very moments. Kaname knew his ugly blood-thirsty beast and he was aware of its limits – he wasn't stupid, stubborn or even prideful enough to deny the existence of those, too. He _knew_ all of that…And _yet_ …

He couldn't resist the temptation. Not now, not in this state. He had been doing it on a regular basis, denying his every instinct that kept screaming at him to do what he had been dying to do for so long now, demanding and coaxing and _begging_ him to give in and finally be true to himself _for once_ in his long, long life.

Yet he had always denied it – he _was_ denying it even now, with every bit of will and strength and sanity he still had remaining in him.

More blood filled Kaname's mouth with another deep intake, a muffled moan escaped him.

Zero couldn't help wincing slightly when the already strong grip on his hand started to turn painfully tight. But instead of protesting or saying anything at all, he only placed his free hand on Kaname's head carefully and stroked the pureblood's dark tresses tenderly, absently marveling at how silky and pleasant to the touch they were.

Kaname's tense form relaxed a bit with a soft sigh of content. His agitated mind calmed down somewhat along with his pounding heart. It was easier to breathe now – not that the pureblood really took notice of that fact, too out of it still.

But that didn't matter, as that wonderful blood continued to deliciously assault his senses and those caring, soothing touches of gentle fingers never stopped. It made him feel so good and warm he was slowly starting to lose himself. Soon his senses were filled with nothing but Zero and the feeling of having him in his grasp and, before long…

It ceased to be enough. And every part of his being demanded _more_.

He knew he had to stop. He _needed_ to stop, otherwise-

Kaname's fangs lengthened to their fullest as his inner beast slowly started to take over. The pureblood froze and stopped breathing, his form impossibly rigid.

He drew a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, but the action turned out to be a mistake. His senses were filled with nothing but Zero's blood now, and his whole body got assaulted by a wave of violent tremors.

 _He had to stop. He had to let go of that hand_.

And he had to do it _now_.

But...Could he...?

Unconsciously, Kaname tightened his hold on Zero's hand. He slowly moved up and it wasn't long before he had Zero's wrist before him, every vein in it bursting with life and tempting him to have a taste almost shamelessly, calling out to him so sweetly it was impossible to resist.

His beast purred at its wonderful song, it was all too happy to lose itself in its beautiful lull.

Kaname breathed out a shaky breath. Slowly, he lowered his head to Zero's wrist, not missing the way the pulse underneath the thin skin started to quicken.

Another wave of tremors went through him, this time of sheer excitement.

Before the pureblood knew it, he opened his mouth wider, now fully ready to bite.

Which was exactly what he was going to do next, however...

"Kaname...?" Zero's voice called, hints of worry mixed with apprehension clear in it.

Kaname froze and stopped breathing altogether. He loosened his hold on Zero's wrist, only now realizing how tightly he had been gripping it – so much so that there were actually faint marks left.

Kaname felt a pang of guilt at the sight. Before he knew it, he closed the distance between his lips and Zero's wrist and…

Amethyst eyes widened in shock. _'Did-…did Kaname just…'_

 _He_ kissed _his wrist…?_

Zero's pulse raced, his cheeks reddened at the realization.

"I'm sorry," came from the pureblood next, but before the hunter managed to even think about coming up with any kind of response, he was pushed down on his back and Kaname was on top of him, his hot breath tickling his neck.

The hunter tensed.

Contrary to his apprehensive expectations, however, nothing happened – the pureblood only stayed where he was, unmoving, his form trembling slightly.

"I'm sorry," Kaname repeated quietly. "I…I will not bite you, Zero-kun, I promise. Just…" He paused to take a deep breath, then continued, "Just let me stay like this for a minute, please…"

Silence followed that request. It reigned for the longest few moments of Kaname's life, and he was almost ready to take the lack of any response as a refusal and get up and leave. Before he could do that, however, Zero's hand was back on the back of his head, its touch just as gentle as it had been before, while his free arm hugged his shoulders.

Kaname exhaled a shuddering breath, his taut muscles relaxed involuntarily in pure relief.

"Okay," Zero said softly, and Kaname was relieved to feel the boy's form relax underneath him as well.

With another shuddering sigh, the pureblood closed his eyes and buried his face into the pale neck before him with a whispered _'Thank you'_.

For a long while, they stayed like that in companionable silence with Zero absently stroking Kaname's silky chocolate hair and the said pureblood quietly enjoying the attention. He could feel his bloodlust receding and his inner beast retreating slowly but surely, calmed by Zero's comforting presence, sweet scent and gentle touch. They were almost enough to lull him to sleep.

Kaname let out another long sigh, this one of relief.

"I was wondering…" sounded Zero's quiet voice, hints of hesitation in it not escaping the pureblood. "What happened to them?" Before Kaname could rise and give Zero an elegantly arched inquiring eyebrow, Zero specified, "Aidou and the rest. Their behavior back there, it was...strange…" Especially in Aidou's case. Zero would have thought the noble would be right at Kaname's side the moment the pureblood got hurt, but that hadn't been the case – on the contrary, it had seemed like Aidou had been...almost _scared_ to get close to Kaname.

"Oh…" There was a chuckle as Kaname realized what the teen meant. "You noticed…" Then the actual answer came, "They tried their best not to attack me."

"Attack you…?" Zero frowned, confused. "Why would they want to attack you? Aren't you their boss?"

Kaname couldn't help letting out a small chuckle at the question before answering, "I wouldn't exactly call myself anyone's 'boss', but I suppose you could say so. I _am_ their leader, after all."

"But then why…?"

"Because I am also their most desired prey. Every pureblood is. Our blood is just too irresistible to all vampires of lower levels."

"But…aren't they all supposed to worship you?" Zero asked again, frowning.

"They do. And my blood is also one of the reasons _why_ they do so. But it doesn't mean they are above _desiring_ it. Its temptation is just too great…"

Zero blinked before letting out a hearty chuckle. "Wow, you actually said that out loud without any embarrassment."

Zero felt rather than saw Kaname shrug as he replied, "I merely stated the truth. Why on earth should I feel embarrassed about it?"

"Yeah, why indeed," Zero said with another amused chuckle. Then another question came to him and he didn't hesitate to voice it. "But…Why didn't they use that opportunity to get you?"

"Because their fear of me and respect born from it wouldn't allow them, no matter how strong their vampire instincts are."

"That's…sad…" Zero really couldn't find a more suitable word to express his opinion on the pureblood's words.

Kaname blinked, slightly taken aback. Raising himself up on his elbows, he looked up at the silver-haired teen. "Is that so?"

"Sad that you think so, that is. The way I see it, they did their best not to hurt you because they care for you. And not just as their leader, but as their friend, too."

"Oh…" Was all Kaname could give in response as he pondered on Zero's words, his gaze lowering and eyes narrowing a bit in thought.

Zero couldn't help but find Kaname's reaction somewhat…endearing, to say the least. Letting out another soft chuckle, he ruffled the pureblood's hair and said, "Really, try having a bit more faith in them, will you?"

"I…" Kaname paused, entranced by the view before him. It was only now that he actually realized their current position and how… _close_ they were. He felt his heart begin to race uncontrollably, being the usual traitorous thing that it was. "I will think about it." He finished quietly, averting his gaze, before getting up altogether to fetch his bloodied shirt and jacket.

Zero sat up slowly. Watching the pureblood getting dressed, he asked, "How is your shoulder?"

"It's…" In all honesty, Kaname had long forgotten all about it, so it took him a few moments to realize what Zero's question was about. "It's fine. I believe it has almost healed."

Zero sighed with relief, a gentle smile forming on his lips. "I see."

Just when Kaname thought he had managed to calm down, his heart began racing anew. He felt that by now not so unfamiliar warmth spread in his chest. It made him feel…genuinely happy…that Zero cared for him enough to show that kind of expression, enough to give him _that_ smile. But…

"You should never do that again, Zero-kun."

_It also saddened him to no end._

A puzzled frown made its way to Zero's features. "What do you mean?"

Kaname breathed a heavy sigh before giving the actual reply, "You know _what_ I am. You know what my bite can do to you, and yet you still didn't hesitate to offer me your blood."

"Oh…" _That…_

"You do realize how dangerous, not to mention reckless, that was, don't you?"

"I…" Of course he did. But… "I just…" He simply wanted to help, because he didn't want to see Kaname hurt. It was his own selfishness that had pushed him to do it.

"I know you trust me enough to do something like that, and you cannot imagine how happy it makes me. However…" Kaname paused to discreetly take a shuddering breath before continuing, "There is no guarantee that I will always be able to control myself. And if you go on like that, I know I will lose to the temptation one day."

Silence was what followed that warning mixed with hidden confession.

Zero could only stare at Kaname, completely lost and unable to say anything in response.

For a few impossibly long seconds, Kaname held Zero's gaze, then he turned around and made for the door. Opening it, he paused to look at the silver-haired teen over his shoulder and say, "Good night, Zero-kun. Sleep well."

Zero was about to reply, but Kaname continued before he could do it, "And…Thank you."

And so the pureblood went out the door, leaving Zero alone to ponder on his words.


	23. Sweet Poison

 

"The hell are you two thinking letting him go just like that?" Kaito all but hissed through his grinded teeth with unhidden anger and exasperation. "How many times do I need to be proven right for you two to finally _admit_ that he _is_ dangerous?"

Exactly, 'admit', for Kaito knew the two men before him did realize that he was right, even if they still refused to acknowledge that fact out loud.

Cross heaved a weary sigh as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kaito-kun…"

"Drop it, Kaito. We're not having this conversation again." Yagari said sternly, his tone leaving no room for protests.

Which failed to stop Kaito all the same.

"Why not?" The young hunter spoke almost challengingly. "Because you know that I'm right now more than ever?"

" _No_. We're just _not_ having it. Period." Yagari replied, his cold eye narrowing dangerously in open warning.

It actually sent a shiver of fear down Kaito's spine. Still, he refused to back down.

His fingers curling into fists, the younger hunter took a deep calming breath before speaking again, "What is it with you two whenever it comes to those twins? And it's not _just_ in regard to Zero, but to _Ichiru_ , too…" Their sentiments for the former Kaito could understand – he really _did_ understand – whereas the ones for the latter… Looking at it rationally, he could only conclude that the two most renowned hunters whom he respected and had always looked up to were insane – simple as that, sad as it was.

"I can understand _your_ reluctance to admit the truth and finally take an action," Kaito said, looking at Cross. "But _you_ …" His gaze shifted to Yagari at that. "Why do _you_ keep choosing to turn a blind eye to what's really going on and refuse to do what _needs_ to be done? It's like the hunter in you doesn't even exist when it's about Zero and Ichiru."

Kaito's bitterly spoken words of accusation were followed by heavy silence. Neither Yagari nor Cross could say anything in their defense. They knew everything Kaito had said was true, even if they still refused to fully admit it even to themselves.

Yagari breathed a deep sigh before finally putting an end to the lengthy pause. "And what would _you_ have us do, Kaito?"

"He has to be put down."

"That's out of the question," came Cross's immediate protest before Kaito could even properly finish voicing his reply. "Don't you even joke about something like that, Kaito-kun," the older hunter added in an uncharacteristically serious tone, his expression grim.

Kaito sighed in exasperation. "Then locked away, at the very least. He _is_ a danger."

"He is not a crazed Level E to be put on a chain."

" _Yet_. But he is slowly getting there and you know it."

"I _don't_ and he is _not_ ," Cross didn't back down as well.

Kaito's irritation grew by the second. "Then what _is_ happening to him? Don't tell me _you_ didn't sense him back then and the thought of putting a bullet through his skull didn't cross your mind."

"No, it didn't." The actual thought may have been there, lost somewhere in the back of his mind, but all Cross's head had been _really_ filled with at those dreadful moments was overwhelming fear that he wouldn't make it in time to prevent what Kaito had voiced from happening.

Cold brown eyes narrowed. "It's true what they say. You did lose your touch from this peaceful life and complete lack of practice that comes with it."

"Kaito-" Yagari started, but was interrupted.

"And you're no better," Kaito accused, his attention now on the black-haired male. "What on earth happened to the relentless, perfect hunter respected and feared by everyone?"

"Nothing," Yagari replied coldly. "He is right where he is supposed to be."

There was a derisive snort. Then Kaito gave his actual answer, "Right. You don't even believe it yourself."

No response came, but Kaito wasn't really expecting one.

Cursing bitterly under his breath, the ash brown-haired hunter turned on his heels and strode towards the door, unable to bear staying in the same room with the two veteran hunters any longer.

"Kaito." The said hunter looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name. He was met with a narrowed in warning steely blue eye that pinned him in place. "Don't do anything stupid. And don't breathe a word about Ichiru to _anyone_ , the Association included."

Brown eyes narrowed. There was a long moment of tense silence before Kaito gave his reluctant reply, "I won't." Then he added, "But I won't stop keeping an eye on him either."

And then Kaito left, slamming the door behind him.

**-o-**

Ichiru's morning began with the weirdest of conversations with his beloved twin.

"What is it like…?" Zero asked somewhat absently, as though the question was addressed to no one in particular.

"What exactly?" Ichiru replied with a yawn in pretty much the same manner, still sleepy, as he bit into his toast.

"…Kaname's blood," was Zero's simple reply that made Ichiru choke on his breakfast.

"W-wha-" the younger twin started through his coughing fit, "What…?" Well, one thing was for sure, he was wide awake now.

"…Aidou and the other vamps…Their reaction to it back then got me wondering…"

"About Kuran's _blood_?" Ichiru cringed in disgust at the last word.

Zero shrugged. "Pretty much."

"You do realize how weird, not to mention disturbing, _that_ is, don't you?"

"Would be strange if I didn't."

And yet they continued their conversation as thought its topic was a perfectly normal one.

Ichiru sighed. "And what exactly do you want to know about it?"

"Kaname said all vamps are crazy about his blood- well, about any pureblood's blood, actually."

"Wow, he actually disregarded his modesty for a second and said _that_?" Ichiru commented with a scoff and an arched eyebrow.

"Not exactly, but his way of putting it was no less embarrassing." Zero let out an amused chuckle at the memory of Kaname's original wording.

Ichiru couldn't help but feel irritated at it.

But then Zero returned to the main topic at hand. "You never seemed affected by it, though. Not in the slightest."

"Kuran's blood?"

Zero gave a nod.

"Because it's disgusting," Ichiru replied to his twin's unvoiced question, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Zero's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?" was all he could provide in response.

"You heard me. It's disgusting. Everything about it is. The smell might be bearable enough, but the taste is horrible," Ichiru elaborated with an even deeper distaste written all over his face. "I hate it, and if those vamps are actually dying to have it, then the only rational explanation for it is that they're crazy."

"That's…" Surprising, to say the least. "But-"

Zero didn't finish. His form went stiff and he completely lost track of all his previous thoughts, his gaze snapped to the kitchen window.

"What is it?" Ichiru asked, noticing the sudden change in his twin.

"No…" Zero breathed out after a few seconds of still silence. "No, it's nothing. Just…" A puzzled frown crossed his features briefly, his form remained tense and he still couldn't tear his eyes away from whatever it was he was looking at. Frowning in worry now, Ichiru followed Zero's gaze, but there was nothing outside the window.

Ichiru's frown deepened as suspicion started to creep in.

"It's nothing," Zero repeated, shaking his head and finally averting his gaze from the window. "Nothing at all."

Ichiru knew from experience that that wasn't the case. So he didn't hesitate to ask, "Is it _that man_ again?"

Zero blinked, coming out of his daze. He wasn't even surprised that Ichiru had managed to see right through him again. He _was_ his other half, after all.

Looking at the younger teen, Zero smiled softly before shaking his head and replying, "No, it didn't feel like him." It hadn't felt _anything_ like Kuran Rido, not in the slightest – that Zero could say for sure.

"But?" Ichiru prompted, knowing that there was something else bugging Zero besides the foreign presence that he had apparently sensed.

"It's just…" Zero frowned thoughtfully, trying to recall the feeling that was already dissipating. "I thought it felt familiar…somehow…" He went deeper into his mind in an attempt to remember where he had sensed that presence before, but came up empty. "But I can't quite put my finger on it," he finished, returning his full attention to Ichiru with a small resigned sigh.

"Is it bad news?" Ichiru inquired next, his brain already processing the new information actively.

"Didn't seem so." Honestly, Zero hadn't felt any malice or hostility from it. However… "But I can't be sure."

"I see…" Then they would just have to wait and see for themselves, wouldn't they?

A warm, quietly reassuring smile came to Ichiru's lips when he regarded Zero anew. "Come on now, nii-san. Let's finish our breakfast," he said, gently taking Zero's hand in his to lead his twin to the table.

"Mm," Zero agreed with a small nod after taking one last brief look outside through the window.

**-o-**

Ichiru was starting to get seriously, _genuinely_ irritated by this new bizarre situation he had unexpectedly found himself in. And if it didn't change any time soon, someone _would_ get their head ripped off. Literally.

Letting out a long exasperated sigh, Ichiru stood up and got off the rooftop ledge he had been sitting on for the past half an hour or so. "This isn't even funny anymore," he said as he turned around to face the one person he knew he would find there. "What, you suddenly realized you were madly in love with me and couldn't think of anything better than to follow me around like a creepy stalker?" Ichiru continued in his usual sarcastic manner, but this time there was more spite in his tone rather than amusement of any kind. "That's a bit too much even for a freak like _you_ , Kaito."

There was a derisive snort, then came the actual reply. "How funny. _You_ of all people calling someone else a 'freak'…I say _that_ is a bit too hypocritical even for _you_ , Ichiru."

"You can think whatever you want," Ichiru shrugged, unaffected by Kaito's words. "But do it somewhere else, preferably as _far_ away from me as possible."

"Sadly for both of us, I can't do that. At least for now."

"And why is that?"

"Because you are a danger. And you need to be monitored at all times."

Lilac eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is that what the Association ordered you to do?"

Ichiru's question was met with silence.

One silver eyebrow rose, a small smirk graced Ichiru's lips. "Oh…? So they don't know yet…" Either that or the Association didn't see him as a threat that could spiral out of control at any time, which was too unlikely to even consider. They would never pass up an opportunity to get rid of him. He knew that all too well – they all did. "Why, you still haven't reported me to them?" Now, that was another notion too unlikely to actually consider. Kaito would never cover up for him out of the goodness – Ichiru gave an internal snort at that – of his heart. But if it was indeed so and the older hunter hadn't reported anything to his beloved Association yet, it could only mean that…

"Oh…" Ichiru's eyes widened slightly in realization. "So it's Cross and Yagari…They _forbade_ you from saying anything, and you just don't have it in you to actually go against them, no matter how much you want to hand me over to your bosses."

"…If they don't come to their senses and I decide that it is necessary to do so, I _will_ go against them. And against Zero, too, for that matter."

"…And meanwhile you're going to entertain yourself by following me around in hopes that I will…do what, exactly? Snap and kill someone by drinking them dry?"

"I will continue following you around to prevent _that_ from happening. Since it looks like none of those around you is willing to stop you."

"Because they know there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine. Have been and _will be_. So you're just wasting your time." A mocking smirk returned to Ichiru's features as he continued. "Which is why I strongly suggest that you back the hell off and find yourself a real Level E to fuck with. Desperate as you might be, I'm not really interested in being your little playmate, so get over it."

Kaito could swear he felt a vein in his temple pop. The younger Kiryuu was just _that_ annoying and frustrating to no end. Still, he managed to get past the immense desire to give a snide remark of his own.

"You can be your sarcastic self all you want, but you know as well as I do that something is _not_ right with you. And you know what?"

Ichiru stayed silent, letting Kaito continue.

"Unfortunately for you, it's not just me. I'm sure Zero has already noticed it, too, unaware as he would rather pretend to be. Hell, I bet even Yagari and Cross have, no matter how much they want to deny it."

Ichiru's fingers involuntarily twitched before slowly curling into fists. The teen's heartbeat started racing, but he did his best to hide it – at least outwardly.

"Which means that it's only a matter of time before they see that I'm right and decide to get rid of you for the common good. Wouldn't you agree, Ichiru?" Kaito finished with a smug smirk.

Ichiru's previously dispassionate gaze turned into a cold glare, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He knew he was being provoked, he knew he should just stay quiet and not say another word, but…

He couldn't. Because to him it felt like it wouldn't actually be true if he didn't say it out loud here and now.

"You're underestimating their loyalty." Ichiru replied then in a chillingly calm, emotionless tone. "And you're really underestimating _Zero's_ loyalty, if you think he would give up on me just like that."

"Oh, trust me, I most certainly _don't_ think so. I do know how blindly loyal Zero is to you, how foolishly protective he is of you." It never ceased to both amaze and repulse Kaito at the same time. He just couldn't get it. And he sure as hell didn't _want_ to. In his opinion, the kind of love the two shared was just unhealthy and poisonous. "However...what can Zero do when he is all alone against a whole Hunter Association…? And you know as well as I do, that if you go on like that, even Cross and Yagari won't be there to support your case."

Ichiru's fingers curled further, his fingernails now biting into the skin of his palms.

He couldn't argue with the other's words – he had nothing to be able to do so. And it frustrated him to no end, knowing that Kaito was actually _right_.

"So let's see how long you can actually hold it together…shall we?"

Ichiru knew he _had to_ do something before it got too late.

**-o-**

"Kaname… _sama_ ," Takuma called his friend's name softly in an attempt to attract his attention, not forgetting to add the honorifics just to be safe. He could tell from the pureblood's heavy aura and tense – no matter how good he was at masking it – posture that it would be better _and_ safer for everyone present in the room if the blond treaded as carefully as possible.

"…Yes?" Came Kaname's calm, absent and very much disinterested response.

Takuma couldn't help letting out a small, almost inaudible sigh of relief. He had attracted some of Kaname's attention – good. He hadn't attracted enough to have the brunet's gaze fixed on him – even better. For, in all honesty, it was too scary to look Kaname in the eye at times like this. Although the picture the man currently presented was hardly less disturbing.

"Um…" Takuma paused as his gaze flickered briefly to a glass of water standing innocently on the classroom desk right before his childhood friend. "Are you alright?" He said quietly, his voice filled with mild uncertainty and cautiousness that he did a relatively decent job hiding.

"…Why? Is there something that suggests otherwise?"

"Well…"

_Yes. The aura, for one. And the list could go on._

"No, but…"

 _And Takuma wasn't the only one who had noticed and now was on edge because of it – naturally. Every member of the Night Class had sensed the subtle yet disturbing shift in their leader's normally calm and composed presence. There was no way they wouldn't be affected by it, especially being in such close proximity. Although they were diligently trying to hide it by quietly continuing their idle chatter while doing their best not to throw curious yet cautious glances their prince's way_ too often _._

"Wouldn't _that_ amount of blood tablets normally be quite enough…?"

Kaname's hand with a couple of blood pills between its long fingers paused mid-motion. A thoughtful silence set between the two heavily, doing nothing to ease Takuma's quiet nervousness.

But then Kaname moved, breaking the spell at long last. "Normally, it would," he said, dropping the small pills into the glass of water before him.

"I see…" was all Takuma said before shutting up and leaving the matter be as his instincts were telling him to do for all their sakes.

 _'_ Normally, _it would…'_ Kaname mentally repeated.

And _normally_ , his thirst wouldn't be so intense. _Normally_ , it would be much easier to suppress it. _Normally_ , he wouldn't have to force a whole package of blood tablets down his throat just to get the constant burning in his chest to recede if only just slightly and for a short while.

_But that didn't seem to be the case this time around. And nothing that 'normally' worked for him seemed to do its job properly now._

_And Kaname believed he knew the reason for it…_

He never should have given in to the temptation of Zero's blood. Sure, he had tasted it before on several occasions, but just tasting it and actually having a few mouthfuls of it had completely different consequences. And he had failed to consider it in spite of knowing all about it. So now he was paying for his dumb decision taken on nothing but a foolish impulse.

He should have been smarter than that and he knew it. He had known it during those torturous yet blissful moments, too, yet he had chosen to ignore it. And worst of all was the fact that there was no doubt in his mind that he would have _still_ acted the same way had he gotten the chance to go back there and possibly fix his mistake.

He had thoroughly enjoyed every second of that little spontaneous feeding session, and he couldn't deny it. He wouldn't even try, as it was pointless – the thoughts going through his mind back then and even now wouldn't allow it. And this time he couldn't even have his ugly, bloodthirsty inner beast take the blame for him, because he _knew_ all too well that it had all been him making the choices.

And so now here he was, thirstier and more displeased with himself than ever. But even more than that he was… _afraid_ …

Afraid of getting close to Zero again and of what that might lead to.

For his fangs throbbed traitorously in anticipation at the mere thought – the pureblood could only imagine what the actual encounter would bring. And his imagination wasn't helping his case either. If anything, it only pushed his bloodlust to intensify further, so Kaname really, _really_ wished he could stop his thought process altogether, if only for a bit.

Burgundy eyes watched the water turn crimson with the last pill dissolving.

It took a moment of mental self-convincing, as the taste now seemed even fouler than usual to him.

Bringing the glass to his mouth, Kaname took a slow sip, barely holding back from cringing.

It was the farthest cry from that sweet, sweet nectar Zero had unintentionally yet still cruelly poisoned him with.

But it would have to suffice.

Kaname _had to_ make it work.

**-o-**

There was a hiss. It was followed by a loud clatter as metal collided with wooden floorboards of their shared room.

"Ichiru!" Zero called as he rushed to his twin's side, alarm clear in his voice. "What is it? What happened?" He carefully took Ichiru's trembling hand and turned it palm up in order to examine it, only to find…

Amethyst eyes widened. Ichiru's hand…it was…

 _Burnt_ …

Tentatively, Zero touched the scorched skin, his fingers quivering ever so slightly, hesitant. The delicate, almost ghostly touch lasted for no more than a split second before Zero withdrew his hand altogether when a small involuntary hiss made it past Ichiru's gritted teeth.

"Sorry," Zero muttered softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. I'm fine, nii-san, really."

Zero doubted it, but he didn't voice his thoughts on that particular subject.

"…How did it happen?" Zero asked after a few moments of strained silence.

"I…I think it was…the weapon…"

Zero frowned. "What? You mean…" He shifted his gaze from Ichiru to the floor and back. " _Your_ sword…?"

Ichiru averted his eyes and pursed his lips. Zero took that as an affirmative answer to his question.

The two fell into heavy silence.

"…It's not healing," Ichiru observed absent-mindedly after a while. "Not as quickly as it should."

It took Zero a moment to muster a reply. "…It's a hunter weapon. And you _are_ a vampire, you know…"

"But they never affected me like this before... Only when I took a direct hit." Not to mention the fact that _this_ particular hunter weapon was _his_. It _wasn't_ supposed to affect him in _any_ way.

"I know…" Zero trailed off, knowing full well what his twin was thinking.

Another few moments of tense silence ensued.

Then, finally looking up at his other half with a concerned frown set firmly into his features, Zero said, "You should stay in. I will take care of the mission."

"No, I'm coming with you."

"Ichiru-"

"I'm not about to let you do it alone, nii-san. I'm coming with you and that's it."

"You can't hunt with a weapon that hurts you like that," Zero tried to reason with Ichiru, but it was in vain.

"I don't _really_ need a weapon and you know it. So it's not a problem."

"It is with Kaito constantly on your back."

"I will continue using my sword on our missions, then."

"Not if it hurts you."

"It won't. I will tame it. It _is_ my weapon, after all. And for now…I'll just have to put a pair of gloves on and no one will notice anything," Ichiru replied with a shrug at the last part.

But Zero still wasn't convinced and Ichiru knew it, he could easily tell.

So he added with a sweet, genuine smile reserved solely for his counterpart, "It will be fine, nii-san…" He cupped Zero's face gently when he saw worry and doubt clouding his twin's clear eyes remain there, his gaze tender and filled with conviction as well as his words. "Everything will be fine. I won't get found, I promise."

Zero looked at Ichiru long and hard, still unsure. He didn't like that idea, he didn't like what had been going on lately. It felt like everything was just spinning out of control. And for some reason he was afraid that if he caved in to his twin this time around as well, it would only get worse.

So he would have to stand his ground by refusing Ichiru this time. And he would do it.

"So don't worry about it," Ichiru added. "Alright, nii-san?"

He really would. He was going to, but…

Zero sighed. "…Alright."

He failed again.

**-o-**

He hadn't noticed it at first. Or maybe he had, but chose to ignore it, preferring to turn a blind eye to all the changes and their signs.

But he knew they were there. He knew there was _something_ different about Ichiru, but he didn't know what. And he could only hope that that change wasn't bad for his twin. And for everyone around them, too, for that matter.

_Even though Zero couldn't help the persistent feeling of uneasiness he had been getting lately, the one he was unable to shake off no matter how hard he tried…_

There was an exasperated sigh. Then the teen spoke, mild irritation clear in his tone.

"What do you want now, Kaito? Finally got bored with stalking Ichiru and opted for harassing me instead?"

"Hardly. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm here only because I can't afford to disobey my orders and break the formation."

"Ever the perfect obedient hunter, aren't you?" Zero replied with a hint of a derisive snort and a light mocking curve to his lips.

"I am," Kaito countered calmly without a moment's hesitation. Then he added with barely concealed disdain, "Unlike you two."

Darkened lavender eyes narrowed as Zero shifted his attention from the crowd before him to his fellow hunter who stood beside him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know without me spelling it out for you, so stop playing dumb, Zero. No matter how much you and Ichiru like to do it, it doesn't work for either of you."

Zero let out a long sigh, quickly growing tired both of the conversation as well as of Kaito's presence. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much," the older hunter replied calmly with a light shrug. "Only to talk."

"About what?"

"I believe you know. In fact, I'm pretty damn _sure_ you do."

Zero did – or, at the very least, he had a pretty good idea. However…

"I'm not having this conversation." Zero said after a few long moments of heavy silence. "Especially with you."

"And why on earth not? It's not like it would harm your precious little leech of a brother in any way."

"Because it won't change anything," Zero replied sharply in a low tone, almost hissing. Then, turning his cold and now angry gaze to Kaito, he added, "And don't you call him that, unless you get off on getting your ass kicked by someone junior to you."

Kaito let out a deep chuckle, unfazed by Zero's very clear threat. "Scary overprotective older brother as always, aren't you?" He countered, his previously present smirk disappearing, his tone turning from slightly teasing to cold and distant when he continued. "And so _foolishly_ , _blindly_ so, too… _Nothing_ ever changes with you two, I see."

"And that is _your_ business _why_?"

"It's _everyone's_ business, I believe," came Kaito's calm reply that made a confused frown cross Zero's features. "Because your blind _recklessness_ affects _everyone_ around you two. And it puts all those people in danger, even if _you_ don't want to admit it or even _see_ it for what it is, Zero."

"And _what_ is it that I don't want to see for what it is…?" Zero asked quietly as he averted his gaze from Kaito, his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. He already knew the answer to his own question. It didn't mean that he had to agree with it, however.

"It's what it's always been. Or rather, it's _who_ it's always been…" Kaito paused, looking at Zero closely to gauge his reaction. But the silver-haired teen remained unresponsive – at least outwardly. "Namely, _Ichiru_ and his being the constant uncontrollable _threat_ that he is and has always been since _that_ night."

A heavy sigh escaped Zero as he closed his eyes tiredly. "You just can't let it go, can you?" He asked, returning his eyes to Kaito. No anger was present there anymore, replaced only by weariness caused by this endless battle they ended up having pretty much each and every time they met. "Stop it, Kaito. Just leave it be already. Leave _him_ be," both Zero's gaze and tone were almost imploring now.

Silence was what followed Zero's request. The teen held Kaito's gaze for another few seconds, then turned his head away and, letting out a small sigh, left.

Unbeknown to the two hunters, in that vast ballroom they were currently in, where no vampire paid them any attention, save for occasional glances and quiet snide remarks thrown their way, a pair of garnet eyes never stopped watching their previous exchange from afar even for a second. And when their owner saw the main focus of his attention leave the room, he didn't hesitate to follow, not forgetting to do it as discreetly as he only could.

Soon he found himself on a balcony, staring at Zero's back wordlessly, and he remained that way for some while, unable to bring himself to speak and not really knowing what to say.

Zero let out a shaky breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. He looked down at his hands as they rose a bit, one clutching and slightly squeezing the other in an attempt to get the slight trembling in them to stop.

He believed he had succeeded in hiding it back there in the ballroom, but Kaito's words had undeniably rattled him. And now he was even more worried and afraid for Ichiru.

He knew he needed to find out what was going on with his twin – the sooner the better. And if it was bad, which was most likely the case, he needed to do something about it – _anything_ , if only it would help his other half.

He needed to think. But first…

_He really needed to calm down._

Slowly and just as shakily as before, the teen breathed in and then out, repeating the action a few times.

It worked. The trembling gradually ceased and his pulse returned to normal.

It was then that Zero finally realized he wasn't alone.

"Are you alright, Zero-kun?"

Amethyst eyes widened a bit. Zero turned around, finding none other than Kaname to be the owner of that all too familiar voice.

"Kaname…" he said quietly, blinking, his mild shock at suddenly seeing the pureblood still present. "What…what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be inside with everyone else?" He asked, fully returning to his usual state. "You are their most important guest, from what I could tell."

Kaname let out a mirthless if not somewhat derisive chuckle. Zero couldn't help wondering about that. "I certainly am," the pureblood replied. "But at the moment I prefer to be here. If that is alright with you, of course."

"You know it is," Zero responded with a small, gentle smile. He was glad to see Kaname. For some reason, the pureblood's presence never failed to somewhat calm him – it had been that way from what seemed like a long, long time ago…

"Got tired of all the attention and decided to take a breather?" Zero asked next with a small playfully mocking smirk. "It must be exhausting to be you, especially at times like this, I suppose."

"You are right, it actually _is_ very exhausting. That is one of the reasons why I usually prefer not to attend such soirees."

"What makes this one so special then?"

"It is hosted by the Council. My absence wouldn't be interpreted well, so I had no choice but to concede and grace them with my presence," Kaname replied, finishing in the same playfully sardonic manner Zero had begun in.

Zero let out an amused chuckle. "Well, aren't Your Highness most kind and generous towards your subjects?"

"I certainly am, yes," Kaname nodded seriously, continuing their little game. "And I am glad you have noticed."

Both smiling, the two fell into companionable silence before sharing a short, amused laugh.

Then, after another short while, Kaname asked more seriously, "How have you been, Zero-kun?" It had been some time since their last encounter – mainly because of Kaname himself, since…well, quite frankly, he had been secretly avoiding any close contact with the teen for the latter's sake as well as for his own. He hadn't been sure he would be able to fully control himself. He _still_ wasn't sure, actually, but he just couldn't help himself after what he had seen and heard.

"Fine…like usual, I guess," Zero shrugged. "And you? I haven't seen you around for an unusually long while."

"Yes, I…I have been busy…lately…" That wasn't entirely a lie. He _had_ been busy with all the council matters and paperwork that he had voluntarily decided to bury himself in. It hardly sufficed as a distraction, but it had actually done its job of keeping him away from Zero – at least for some time. "I didn't know you would be one of the hunters keeping an eye on us at this gathering," Kaname changed the subject. "Is Ichiru-kun here, too?"

Kaname internally cursed himself when he saw Zero's smile falter a bit and his amethyst eyes cloud at the question. He realized his mistake a split second too late.

"Mm," Zero nodded slowly after a pause. "He is. But he is in another part of the building."

Heavy silence followed the answer as the hunter lowered his gaze, a thoughtful frown drawing his brows together. It lasted for a few long moments before Zero decided to break it.

"Kaname…" he started quietly, uncertainly, lifting his eyes to return his undivided attention to the pureblood before him, "Is it possible for Ichiru to…" He had to pause to force down a lump in his throat. "Is there a possibility that he would become a Level E, even though he had Hiou Shizuka's blood?"

Burgundy eyes softened in understanding and sympathy.

"I don't believe so, no." Kaname replied honestly.

"And nothing of the sort ever happened in the past…right?"

"Yes," Kaname nodded, "that is correct."

Zero let out a shaky breath he didn't know he was secretly holding. Kaname's words made him feel somewhat better, even though he knew they didn't really solve the problem at hand. But having some sort of confirmation that his twin couldn't be turning into a Level E did make it much easier for him to breathe. However…

_In that case…_

Zero's fingers curled into fists, a thoughtful frown returned to his features as his gaze clouded over and lowered again and the two lapsed into silence anew.

"What _is_ happening to him then…?" Zero spoke quietly to no one in particular without even realizing it.

Kaname remained quiet for another short while, merely watching the hunter in front of him. Then…

"We can try to find out." He suggested. "If that is what you want…what you and Ichiru-kun want…"

"It is." Zero replied right away without a moment's hesitation. Then, frowning slightly, he asked, "But how?"

"Well…first of all, we need your brother's blood." Kaname paused to gauge Zero's reaction. When he found no signs of protest on the hunter's face, he continued. "And then Aidou."

**-o-**

_"What is it with the purebloods and their weird need to appear in somebody's dreams...?" Ichiru wondered idly._

_"How do you know it is a dream?"_

_"I don't. It just doesn't seem all that real." That and it felt similar to that one time with Kuran Rido. "Do all purebloods really have nothing better to do with all that time you have on your hands?"_

_There was a chuckle. "As a matter of fact, in most cases we don't. That is why we have to keep looking for new ways to entertain ourselves."_

_Ichiru scoffed. "If so, this particular form of_ 'entertainment' _, as you put it, is a rather disturbing one. You do realize that you're invading another person's privacy, don't you?"_

_"Of course I do. Cannot say I care though."_

_This time it was a derisive snort that left Ichiru before his actual reply sounded, "Oh, that's right. Why should you? You all_ are _the kings of the world, after all."_

_"Some of us do believe so, yes. And some think we are the gods."_

_"And which category do you belong to?"_

_"The one that doesn't care for our standing in this world."_

_Another snort. "So you created a new category just for yourself? How typical of an arrogant pureblood."_

_"Well, arrogance_ is _an integral part of our nature. It is only one of our many similarities with humans."_

_"I guess it is," Ichiru agreed. "But you didn't just…well, 'come here' to talk about humans and purebloods, did you?"_

_"No, I didn't."_

_"What do you want then?"_

_"Well, aren't you cold to the one who gave you your new life? I am hurt."_

_"What do you want?" Ichiru repeated the question with an impatient sigh._

_"Nothing. I merely came to see how my two dear boys are doing, sweet child." It was only then that Ichiru actually saw the form of the one he was talking to come into view. And the person before him was just the way he remembered her – she hadn't changed a bit since that night all those years ago. "It has been such a long time, after all."_

_"Oh…" Ichiru offered, unimpressed. "Why the sudden interest?"_

_"I wouldn't call it 'sudden'…" Hiou Shizuka replied with a small smile and a slight tilt of her head. "I never quite stopped wondering about your fate after that night."_

_A brief silence followed the pureblood woman's response as Ichiru regarded her carefully in an attempt to find deception in her words. "We are alive and well, as you probably already know."_

_"Indeed I do. I have been watching you two for some time..."_

_"It was you, then. The one nii-san has been sensing on and off lately."_

_"Oh?" There was a small chuckle before Shizuka continued, "So I was found out by your beloved brother again, wasn't I? He does have remarkable hunter skills, just as you said the first time we met…"_

_"True. And handy as it is during a hunt, sometimes it can be nothing but a bother. Which it has been recently due to your presence."_

_"Isn't he used to a pureblood's presence by now?"_

_"To_ Kuran's _presence – yes. But not to yours."_

_Shizuka didn't miss the distaste in Ichiru's tone and expression as he said the name. Her smile widened ever so slightly._

_"And I suppose that doesn't please you…Am I correct?" She knew all too well she was right. But she still wanted to ask just to annoy the teen for her own amusement._

_Ichiru scowled. "That's none of your business."_

_Shizuka let out a soft chuckle that did nothing to appease Ichiru and only made his scowl deepen. "Oh, how sweet and entertaining you are with your childish possessiveness. It must be so trying to be you sometimes. Even more so_ now _…"_

_A frown crossed Ichiru's features briefly. "What are you talking about?" the teen asked, his irritation replaced with curiosity._

_"I believe you know. You are too smart and perceptive to be oblivious to the changes you have been undergoing recently...wouldn't you agree?"_

_Ichiru pursed his lips. He stayed silent for some time, his gaze lowered in deep contemplation._

_"That doesn't mean I know_ what _it is that is happening to me…" Ichiru interrupted the prolonged silence, his voice a near whisper, his fingers curling into fists._

_"…Why don't you try to find out, then?"_

_A small frown marred the silver-haired teen's features. He didn't say anything for another short while, thoughtful, then he admitted, "I'm not sure I really want to know."_

_"How unusual… Why so indecisive all of a sudden?"_

_"That, too, is none of your business."_

_"You don't need to be afraid, dear child. I can assure you that you are not falling to the Level E. That is simply not possible."_

_"I know that."_

_"I know you do. But it doesn't mean you don't want a confirmation from someone who knows for sure."_

_That was true, and Ichiru couldn't deny that Shizuka was right. Just like he couldn't deny that her words actually brought him some peace of mind._

_"What is it then…?" Ichiru uttered the question unconsciously, lost in thought once again._

_"Who knows?" Shizuka gave an elegant shrug before slowly starting to retreat, returning into the darkness she had originally emerged from, her voice getting farther away "I can only suggest…that you try and find out for yourself, dear child…" It faded altogether then, and just like that, the woman disappeared without a trace, as though she had never even been there in the first place._


	24. Fading Lines

"Kaname, I get that you want to return to the academy as soon as physically possible, but…we have no choice."

Kaname breathed a deep sigh, not surprised that his friend managed to see through his – apparently sloppily put on – mask yet again. He still couldn't help feeling slight irritation about it though. It _was_ frustrating to be read like an open book. But he guessed he had no one to blame for it but himself.

"I know that, Takuma," the pureblood replied. "I know…"

Takuma chose to wait a moment before prompting, "But?"

Another sigh escaped Kaname at being seen through again. He _really_ needed to start exercising better control over himself. "I feel…anxious…"

Takuma blinked, frowning. "Why?"

"I don't know," Kaname said honestly.

Takuma's frown deepened. "About _what_ , then?"

"…I am not sure," came another truthful reply.

The two lapsed into a strained silence. Takuma honestly didn't know how to react to his friend's words and Kaname just retreated into his own world anew.

Unsurprisingly, it was the noble who interrupted the silence, unable to take the tense atmosphere anymore.

"I'm sure you're just being your usual worrywart self," he said with a kind smile as he returned his gaze to the pureblood. "It's not like we will be gone for long. Whatever the Council wants with you, I'm sure they won't keep us there for more than a few hours. And besides…" It was only then that Kaname turned his head to actually look at Takuma. The noble's expression softened, his smile widening ever so slightly. "You can always get up and just leave if they bore you to death. You _are_ a pureblood, after all," he finished with a mischievous wink.

Kaname couldn't help chuckling at that. He actually felt his tension ease a bit. "Then I suppose we will be out of there in less than a minute."

Takuma chuckled as well. "I have no doubts about that."

The two retreated into silence anew, but this time into a much more relaxed and comfortable one.

With a small smile gracing his lips, Kaname let out a soft sigh and gave his childhood friend a grateful look before turning his attention to the passing scenery outside their car window.

The uneasiness was still there, but it had lessened somewhat. Kaname only hoped he really was worrying unnecessarily.

**-o-**

"Why does it have to be him?" Ichiru asked his twin, more than just unhappy. "Why does he _always_ have to interfere with our lives?" He added bitterly as he clenched his hands into fists. He could barely contain his anger now – so unlike his usual, normal self. He was surprised by his own reaction, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"Ichiru…" Zero sighed tiredly. "It's not interference. Kaname only offered to help."

"Doesn't really make any difference to me. I don't want his help." He wanted _nothing_ from Kuran Kaname. He didn't want to have anything to do with him. But most of all, he didn't want _Zero_ to have anything to do with him. The man was dangerous in all sorts and kinds of senses.

Naturally, Ichiru hadn't thought so at first – he hadn't believed it, _couldn't_ believe it, he had always _refused_ to even think of allowing such a silly notion to be anything more than just that. He had actually deemed the man somewhat entertaining at some point in time – even more so when the pureblood began to develop his stupid feelings for _his_ beloved other half. It hadn't really bothered, let alone intimidated, him in any way back then. Granted, it had always been a bit annoying, but it had also amused Ichiru to watch Yuuki's perfect prince lose his balance, clueless and unable to comprehend what to do with himself due to all the inner changes caused by those unexpected newfound feelings of his.

It had also been sort of funny to see Yuuki herself swooning over her crush for nothing before finally finding out the truth – with Ichiru's gracious help, of course.

Yes, it had been his personal little entertainment. And yes, he was a bit sadistic that way. But there was nothing wrong with it – at least so Ichiru genuinely believed.

But he had been wrong about Kaname – wrong to refuse to see him as a threat. He knew that now. To his chagrin, however, it was already too late.

"I refuse," Ichiru finalized, turning away and heading for the door of their shared room, ready to leave.

Zero grabbed his twin by the wrist, successfully stopping him. "Ichiru-"

"I said _no_ , nii-san," Ichiru turned to his counterpart, his darkened with anger lilac eyes narrowed. Zero blinked, taken aback and frozen in place for a second. Meanwhile Ichiru continued, "And that's it."

The younger teen turned away again, pulling his arm out of Zero's grasp before he resumed walking towards the door.

"Ichiru!"

But Zero didn't yield. Not this time.

He stopped Ichiru once more and made him turn around to face him anew. "Ichiru…" The older twin repeated, his voice much softer now as well as his eyes as he locked gazes with his reflection. "Ichiru, please," he implored, cupping Ichiru's face in his hands gently, carefully, as though it was too fragile to touch thoughtlessly. " _Please_ …" Zero implored, unconsciously stroking Ichiru's cheeks with his thumbs as he bore into his brother's familiar eyes with his own in an attempt to get through to the younger teen.

And it seemed like he succeeded, as Ichiru visibly calmed down and relaxed in his hold. He wasn't trying to run anymore, too.

Tranquil silence settled over the two then. Both felt the unpleasant tension that had previously been there leave their forms. Now there was nothing but somewhat exhausted calmness in them.

Ichiru closed his eyes and lowered his head a bit, letting out a shaky breath, his hands going up to let his fingers curl around Zero's wrists. Much like his twin, Ichiru unconsciously caressed the inside of Zero's wrists, feeling the pulse there, involuntarily getting lulled by its beautiful tune and almost literally following its path through his other half's body.

Frowning, Ichiru gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on his counterpart's wrists with a hiss, his head lowering to the point where Zero couldn't really see his face anymore.

He was thirsty. _Again_. And he felt like his bloodlust got stronger and harder to bear this time around, too.

Zero exhaled a shuddering breath, already recognizing the signs. He peered into his brother's face that he had to force upwards.

" _Ichiru_ …" Zero called quietly in a voice so full of emotion Ichiru's heart clenched.

"I got it, nii-san," Ichiru answered, opening his eyes and finally looking at his twin. The lilac in his hues was almost completely gone by now, but it was still struggling to remain. Zero wasn't surprised by his other half's current state in the slightest – it wasn't the first time he witnessed it, after all. But he was frightened by it, frightened by Ichiru's sudden instability – by what it could mean for his brother, by what it _could_ do and probably _was_ doing to him already.

Ichiru's fingers around Zero's wrists tightened. Another shaky breath escaped him, his voice was quivering ever so slightly as he continued, "I'll do it. I will, but first…" His eyes lowered once more, now completely crimson as they concentrated on the source of that beautiful tune that had been softly assaulting his ears for a while now.

Ichiru turned his head a bit to brush his lips lightly over Zero's palm, lingering there for no longer than a few seconds before going lower.

Zero's eyes widened. Very uncharacteristically of himself, he unconsciously tried to pull away, albeit unsuccessfully, as Ichiru only let go of one of his hands while strengthening his grip on the other.

"Ichiru," Zero called in an attempt to get his counterpart's attention, but there was no response whatsoever. "Ichiru, I-" Urgency started to creep into his voice, brought on by what could only be described as _fear_. Zero couldn't believe he was reacting that way to his own twin. He didn't _want_ to react that way. But he couldn't help it – his senses were _screaming_ at him to run away as fast and as far as he only could from the _danger_ that they perceived his own flesh and blood as for the very first time in his entire life. He actually had to force himself not to struggle out of Ichiru's hold as his body wanted to do on nothing but pure instinct. His breathing quickened, his heart began to race.

Burning red eyes flashed, widening as they shifted their focus.

Zero involuntarily froze, his breath caught in his throat.

Ichiru raised one of his hands and put it on Zero's chest, right over his heart, his eyes all but boring into it as though hypnotized. For what felt like the longest while, the two stayed enveloped in tense, breathless silence.

It was Zero who interrupted it.

"I will get the blood," he said, his voice quiet with hints of nervousness in it. He made to move away and get his wrist out of Ichiru's grip, but the younger teen stopped him.

"It's all gone," Ichiru spoke for the first time in what seemed like a very long time. His gaze remained where it had been as well as his hand. It didn't seem like he was quite out of his daze yet. "Not a single vial left."

"Huh?" Zero frowned. "But… _how_?" There had been so many… Kaname had given them _more_ than enough of his blood for Ichiru to last for _weeks_. He couldn't have…

"I drank it all," Ichiru voiced what Zero had already assumed. It was only then that the younger teen looked up at his twin. "I was so… _hungry_ , nii-san…It hurt so much I had to resort to drinking all of _his_ vile blood. I couldn't bear the pain anymore, so I drank every single drop of it just to quench the thirst…" Crimson orbs lowered once more, lost in thought somewhere far, far away. A frown of concentration came to Ichiru's face as his hand left Zero's chest and slowly came up to his own neck without his awareness. "But it didn't work. Not as well as it used to, not even close, so…" Lifting his eyes at his other half anew, Ichiru took a small step forward and gently cupped Zero's face as he implored, " _Please_ , nii-san…"

Zero knew what his twin was asking of him without Ichiru having to say it out loud. And normally, he would have readily offered it himself without a second thought. Now, however…

For once in his life, he was actually hesitant about giving Ichiru his blood. He had a really, _really_ bad feeling about it, and his hunter instincts were _still_ going wild, begging him to simply _run_ and never look back.

And yet…

 _"Please…"_ Ichiru repeated, his voice quivering with desperation in it too clear for Zero's liking.

It made Zero's chest tighten painfully, the way Ichiru was looking at him, the way he was pleading with him. He could see his brother's suffering – he could almost literally _feel_ it. And for that reason…

_Ichiru got closer – slowly, carefully. His hand left Zero's cheek and crept to the back of his head, his slender fingers intertwining with his other half's silky silver hair._

Zero didn't resist when Ichiru guided his head slightly to the side, nor when he pressed his body flush against his, hugging him tightly. Next came the familiar feeling of Ichiru's tongue on his skin, hot and moist. He started preparing it for a bite like he always did – only this time there was urgency mixed with care and tenderness in his actions. Zero could tell Ichiru had to do his damnedest not to bite into his neck right away.

Then, much earlier than expected, came another familiar feeling – the feeling of Ichiru's fangs in his flesh. And that, too, was slightly different than before. The bite felt harsher and hungrier, almost bordering on savage. It actually made him wince in pain, but even then Zero refused to resist.

_Ichiru closed his eyes in bliss, a muffled moan of content escaping him as he took large gulps of the one blood he seemed to genuinely crave. The world around him froze. There was no pain, no burning, no thirst anymore. All doubts and fears and countless bugging thoughts left his weary mind, and he was finally at peace._

_Unknowingly, he tightened his hold and bit harder. He drew more blood in pursuit of that divine feeling of warmth and comfort, desperate not to let it dissipate._

_He didn't notice the form in his arms get weaker after some while, he didn't hear his name being called a few times. And when he thought he felt someone try to force his head away from the source of his bliss, he only tore into Zero's neck further and drank with even more greed and even less restraint._

_He completely ignored the struggle his prey attempted to put up at some point. He paid no mind to that struggle coming to an end, and the meaning of that fact failed to sink in._

_He kept drawing blood until there was nothing left. And it was only then that he started to come to his senses._

He had lost his grip on reality for what felt like only a few moments. But that short-lived oblivion turned out to be more than enough.

Ichiru's eyelids moved in a slow blink, his now lilac orbs unfocused.

Another blink came with a frown, confusion crept into the teen's eyes. Then his vision started to clear, and when it _did_ …

Lilac eyes widened in horror.

The moment the dreadful realization of what exactly he had done dawned on him, Ichiru's heart stopped.

**-o-**

It was the second time Yuuki found her adoptive brothers the way they were now, with Ichiru showing his vampire nature and feeding on Zero.

Unlike the first time, however, it looked like there was something… _different_ …about what was going on – about _Ichiru_... For some reason, he didn't seem to be his usual self. Yuuki even thought he _felt_ somewhat different, but she couldn't really tell why.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, the girl wondered about that change for a moment, but quickly dismissed her thoughts on the matter, too mesmerized by the sight before her to genuinely care.

Zero called Ichiru's name a few times in an attempt to get the latter's attention, but failed.

Not long after he began to struggle – lightly at first, but then for real, as Ichiru refused to let go and only tightened his hold.

Yuuki blinked, her strange fascination growing. She knew what was going on, she had realized it by now. And she could tell that it wasn't good, she could tell that it was dangerous for Zero and that he needed help.

Yet she stayed right where she was, and the thought of actually doing something never even crossed her dazed mind. On the contrary, she _liked_ what she saw, she was _enjoying_ it even. And strangely enough, that fact didn't bother her in the slightest.

Zero's struggles grew weaker, eventually ceasing altogether. His hands released their previously tight grip on Ichiru's clothes and dropped to his sides as his whole body slowly went limp.

Yuuki could tell Zero was on the brink of losing consciousness due to a major blood loss. And Ichiru still wasn't letting go – far from it, his hold on Zero only got stronger and it didn't look like he was anywhere near being done.

Yuuki saw all that, she was fully aware of what was going on.

Yet she _still_ made no attempt whatsoever to do _anything_ about it. She just stood there and watched on, entranced and secretly _thrilled_.

It wasn't long before it happened. Zero's eyes gradually lost all light in them and slowly slid shut. It didn't look like Ichiru noticed though, as he only lowered himself along with Zero's now completely unresponsive form down to the floor and continued to feed.

Yuuki seriously doubted the younger twin even knew what he was doing. She was pretty sure of it, actually. Because she knew there was no way Ichiru would hurt or let _anyone_ hurt Zero while in his right mind. He just loved him too much to allow something like that to happen. Zero was _everything_ to him, after all.

The girl suddenly wondered about Ichiru's reaction to his current actions. She was actually curious to see it, to see just _how_ broken and devastated he would be upon seeing what he had unknowingly done. Because she knew Ichiru _would_ feel that way. She only couldn't imagine it, as he had never been like that – there had been no reason to.

But it seemed as though that wouldn't be the case anymore, because…

_Yuuki's pulse started racing in nervous anticipation._

It looked like Ichiru began to slowly come to his senses. And when he did, it didn't take him long to fully grasp the situation.

For what seemed like a very long while, he stared at Zero, wide-eyed and horrified. Yuuki wasn't sure he was even breathing at those moments.

But then he finally moved, breaking the absolute stillness around them tentatively. His hand went up and stopped just over Zero's cheek, staying there for a few breathless moments before lowering ever so slowly, hesitantly, its fingers trembling as they met with now frighteningly pale skin.

Ichiru drew a sharp breath then, his fingers involuntarily twitching and leaving Zero's cheek for a second.

 _"Nii-san…"_ Yuuki heard Ichiru call, his voice quiet and foreign to her in its weakness. _"Nii-san…"_ Ichiru repeated in the same manner as he caressed Zero's cheek gently, carefully. _"Nii-san…!"_

Yuuki had never seen Ichiru like that. She had never thought she would get to. She hadn't believed he even _could_ be like that – so weak and…

_'Pathetic…'_

Briefly, she wondered if _that person_ would react the same way. If _he_ would-

"Yuuki-chan, what's taking you so-" Cross failed to finish his sentence as he turned his head to follow Yuuki's gaze and took in the newfound scene before him. The girl didn't really pay him heed, still too busy watching her two adoptive brothers. But she could hear the man inhale a sharp breath, could feel him go completely rigid and could imagine absolute horror settle on his usually smiling face.

For a long moment of tense stillness, he stood motionless.

Then he rushed past Yuuki into the room, placed his hand on the top of Ichiru's head and uttered words spoken in language the brunet girl neither knew nor even recognized. She suspected it was some kind of a charm, as the next moment Ichiru fell unconscious on the floor while Cross took Zero into his arms, lifted him up, left the room and once again wordlessly rushed past Yuuki, only this time down the hallway.

**-o-**

Contrary to Takuma's words and Kaname's wishes, it took them over a day to actually get out of the long, _long_ meeting with the Council and return to the Cross Academy.

Immediately upon arrival, he used his senses to detect Zero's exact location at the academy grounds – he couldn't help it, it was a habit of his by now.

But he came up empty. Zero was nowhere in the vicinity.

Kaname's shoulders dropped a bit. He couldn't help but feel disappointed at the revelation. He had been looking forward to coming back to the academy for a number of reasons, but it wasn't that difficult to guess which – or rather, _who_ – was the main one. But, well…

The pureblood let out a small sigh before setting off for the Moon Dormitory.

He supposed he would just have to wait a bit longer...

Which was exactly what Kaname did. He waited, waited and waited. But before long it got impossible to do so, as minutes turned into hours, late day turned into night that soon turned into morning. And yet there was not a single indication of Zero's presence anywhere near the academy. And now that Kaname thought about it, the same could be said about Cross. Which was unusual enough of itself – the man never left his post as chairman of the Cross Academy for long, and certainly not without giving prior notice. And while Cross's absence could hardly be considered that lengthy, it still made alarm bells ring in Kaname's head.

 _Something was wrong. He knew it. He could_ feel it _in his bones…_

So here he was, standing in front of the painfully familiar by now Cross residence early in the morning with his heart secretly hammering in his chest so hard it almost made his ribcage hurt. He was already anticipating the worst, no matter how much he wanted to hope for the better.

Kaname raised his closed hand to knock on the door. Never in his life had such a simple action seemed that difficult.

It was Yuuki who answered the door, and happy as Kaname always was to see his dear girl, he couldn't really bring himself to feel that way this time around. His anxiety grew.

Uncharacteristically, the pureblood went straight to the point and asked the question the answer to which he was most interested and apprehensive to learn. And when he actually _got_ it…

Forgetting all about his impeccable manners, Kaname unceremoniously went past Yuuki to where he _knew_ the younger of the Kiryuu twins was.

He should have known. He should have _realized_ sooner. He should have-

 _He should have been_ there _when it all happened…_

The pureblood let out a sharp hiss of pain and took an involuntary step back from the door of the room Ichiru was held in as he jerked his hand away from the doorknob.

He had been burned. And the condition of his palm when he looked at it only confirmed that conclusion.

Kaname breathed out a shuddering sigh as he gripped his wrist tightly in an attempt to get his injured hand to stop shaking as violently and uncontrollably as it currently was. It did the trick, but the wound itself wasn't healing and the pain wasn't just _still there_ – it was slowly spreading through his body, and the pureblood could feel every second of that highly unpleasant process. But that wasn't what bothered him, at least not at the moment.

Kaname looked up at the door in front of him, his burgundy eyes narrowed, his teeth gritted. Uncharacteristically hissing a curse under his breath, the brunet stepped towards the closed door, careful not to trigger the hunter spells he now knew were put on it along with the room it led to.

He got as close as he only could, to the point where he could _feel_ the charms licking his skin every now and again, crackling softly in response to his proximity to them.

"You know why I am here, don't you…?" Kaname started as he slowly put his now clawed hands on the wall on both sides of the door, his voice low, dangerously smooth and foreign in its dark undertones.

There was no response, but he didn't really require one.

He gave a small chuckle that had nothing but bitterness in it, his features twisted in pain as he continued, "Of course you do. How could you not after what you did…" His fingers curled slightly, his elongated, sharp nails digging into the wall his hands were resting against.

The pureblood let out a shuddering breath, his burgundy eyes lowering, unseeing and lost in thought.

There was a long moment of tense stillness.

It was Kaname who interrupted it with his next words. "I went as far as to give you _my_ blood just to keep him safe… And yet it _still_ wasn't enough. It is _never_ enough for you, is it...?"

Once again, he was met with silence. But just like the last time, he didn't need Ichiru's reply to know that he had the attention of the one he was talking to. He knew the boy was listening to him as it was.

Kaname drew and then exhaled another shaky breath. "But this ends now. I will not let you get near him anymore. Not the way that you are now."

That was the right thing to do. And he should have done so a long, long time ago. But he had been too… _scared_ …to act.

The spells sizzled as Kaname moved a bit closer to the door and said in an almost inaudible voice next, "…Even if Zero-kun disagrees with me, even if he grows to despise me… Whatever the cost, I will not allow it to go on." And then he slowly moved away, his hands returning to his sides. For a few long seconds, he just stood there staring intently at the closed door, then turned away and left, all but storming out of the house without even noticing Yuuki as he passed by her on his way out.

The rest was a blur to Kaname.

He wasn't _really_ aware of his own actions when, the moment the morning air hit his skin anew, he dissolved into an angry flock of bats and left the territory of the academy in a flash.

Back in the room Ichiru was imprisoned in, a shuddering sob escaped the teen as he hugged his knees closer to his chest and buried his face further into them, his form trembling uncontrollably.

 _'Nii-san…Nii-san…'_ He kept calling in his head over and over.

" _Nii-san_ …" He whispered brokenly then with another sob.

What…what had he _done_ …? _How_ could he have done such a thing…? And to his _brother_ , his _other half_ , of all people… How could he have done it to _his Zero_ …?

Ichiru's fingers curled, his nails biting into the skin of his arms through his shirt.

 _This wasn't supposed to happen…_ None of this was ever supposed to happen. He was supposed to be in control of himself, of his vampire self – he _always_ had been. And yet…

 _Why_ …?

 _How_ on earth had _this_ happened…?

_And if what he had done wasn't terrible enough…_

Ichiru gritted his teeth, his still extended for some reason fangs biting into his lower lip, breaking the thin skin there. His brows drawing together in concentration, he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to will the burning that was _still_ there away.

 _What_ was _wrong with him…? How_ could _he be this way…?_

He had taken so much… He had consumed every bit of Zero's blood, to the point of draining him, and _yet_ …

It _still_ wasn't enough and he was _still_ hungry. And while he couldn't stop cursing himself for what he had done…a part of him also couldn't stop _reminiscing_ about those _blissful_ moments of his twin's sweet, sweet blood sliding down his parched throat. And that part was actually _purring_ in delight at that memory, it was genuinely _enjoying_ it and…

It wanted more. It was _thirsty_ for _more_ …

Ichiru choked on another shuddering sob.

Probably for the very first time in his life, he actually thought Kaname was right.

**-o-**

"You could have helped him yet you didn't… You chose to simply stand there and watch instead," Shiki said in foreign to his usual self voice and manner that Yuuki had gotten somewhat used to by now. He tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyelids lowering a bit as he absently watched a dark-red liquid move around in a glass vial he was twirling between his fingers idly. "I wonder what our dear Kaname would think of that if he ever found out… Such a betrayal… Surely it would leave him heartbroken." The vampire continued with a soft chuckle and a small lazy smile. He shifted his gaze from the vial then, his eyes regaining some focus as they regarded the only other person in the room he was currently in. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"…Not nearly as heartbroken as he is now." Yuuki replied in an unusually calm manner. "I already know I'm not important enough to overshadow Zero."

"Oh?" Shiki arched an eyebrow. "What an… _unbecomingly_ level-headed behavior on your part." He paused to give a derisive snort, his smile turning openly mocking. "Just look at you, _finally_ opening your eyes… It hasn't even taken you _another_ year to come to terms with that fact, I see…"

Yuuki pursed her lips, a small frown of hurt mixed with annoyance darkening her features a bit. "You don't have to be such a bully about it. I already got it. I know how blind I was."

Another snort of contempt came from the vampire. "You don't know a _thing_. You silly, silly girl…always have been and always _will be_. It's no wonder Kaname couldn't go through his little charade for long." Shiki finished, turning away.

Yuuki's frown deepened in indignation, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She stepped forward briskly and opened her mouth to make an angry retort, but Shiki stopped her in her tracks both literally and figuratively with his next gesture and words.

"Oh, careful now, little one," the noble warned without even looking at the girl, the forefinger of his hand that was still loosely holding the glass vial up in the air in a silencing gesture. "It is in your best interest not to annoy me now." He slowly shifted his gaze back to Yuuki then, his eyes cold and completely devoid of any amusement that had been there previously.

Yuuki went rigid, a cold shiver running down her spine. She involuntarily clenched her fists tighter as her heart raced in fear, even when the maroon-haired vampire's eyes weren't on her anymore.

A tense silence settled between the two.

It lasted for some while before Shiki interrupted it with a long sigh.

"How disappointingly dull…" The noble said before returning his attention to the girl once again. "You and your simpleton thought process with no finesse befitting your kind… It truly _is_ no fun at all…" He finished with another sigh, this one of exasperation.

Yuuki didn't try to answer back this time around. She just remained in place quietly, waiting for the vampire in front of her to continue.

Which Shiki did soon enough.

"Now look what your unsophisticated ways did to our little hunter. And when it just started to get interesting, too…" He huffed irritably.

Yuuki frowned, confused.

"And what do _you_ suppose will happen to our poor Kaname if our little hunter does die? Surely you don't expect him to forget about it and move on…" He paused to assess Yuuki's reaction. His eyebrow rose after a few seconds and he continued, "Or do you? Surely you can't be _that_ foolish…"

Yuuki's lips pressed together, forming a thin line.

Shiki's eyes widened slightly in realization. _'Oh…'_

He threw his head back and gave a deep, hearty laugh.

Chocolate eyes widened in surprise at the sight. It was the first time Yuuki actually saw Shiki laugh.

"Oh, you poor, poor little _fool_ …" The noble said, having calmed down after some time. "You have not the faintest idea what you did, do you?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Exactly. You didn't do _a thing_ when you _could_. So even if it does turn out the way you probably wanted it to…you _still_ will never have what you wish for."

The confused frown returned to Yuuki's face, deeper this time around.

She didn't have to voice the predictable question that had already formed in her head, as Shiki began guiding her to the answer all on his own.

"Do you know what will happen to your beloved Kaname if our little hunter doesn't make it?"

The question was met with silence.

There was a derisive snort. "Of course you don't. How would you?" Shiki continued, getting up from a windowsill he had been casually sitting on this whole time. Slowly, he started closing the distance between himself and the girl in front of him. A dark smirk formed on his lips as he picked up on small tremors that began raking through Yuuki's petite form in unconscious response to his actions. "Shall I enlighten you, then...?"

The girl didn't reply to his question – she _couldn't_ , apparently. But she didn't really need to anyway.

"Madness is the only possible outcome of such an event."

Brown eyes widened, shock evident in them.

Letting out a small snort, Shiki explained, "You see, if it were just any ordinary vampire, they would merely be stricken with grief. Purebloods, however… Even more than possessive, they are deeply obsessive by nature. _Their_ grief is different. It is deeper, more intense and all-consuming, just like any other strong emotion they experience. Which is why it would _never_ go away, it would _never_ stop torturing them and so it _would_ without a doubt end up driving them insane."

Shiki paused for a few long seconds to gauge Yuuki's reaction. Pleased with it, he continued, "Sometimes it can lessen to a point where it would seem as though it finally disappeared…but that would be nothing but a mere illusion. The grief would never recede, the loss would never be forgotten – or alleviated, for that matter. And there is no coming back from its unrelenting depths. Which is why…" The noble leaned down towards the girl to look straight into her wide with shock and now also fear eyes. "Madness is the only thing awaiting a pureblood who lost their lover."

"They're not-!" Yuuki stumbled over her words, too perturbed to be able to speak normally. "They're not…" She lowered her gaze, her eyes clouded as she all but hissed out the last word of her sentence as though it was poison, " _lovers_ …"

Shiki chuckled, straightening up. "How would you even know that?" He said with his usual grin in place, his eyes mocking.

Yuuki looked up at him sharply in indignation, her eyes now narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Shiki snorted upon seeing the effect his words had on the girl. "And besides…" He took Yuuki's hand in his and lifted it, turning it palm up. "Even if they are not, it doesn't change the fact that Kaname loves him the way he never really loved _you_ …" He placed the small glass vessel he had been holding the entire time into Yuuki's hand, then let go and walked past the girl.

Yuuki's fingers curled tightly around the vial, her lips pursed in bitterness.

"So now let us see…" Shiki spoke again as he paused in his tracks at the door, "where your foolishness will lead you this time around."

And then he vanished, leaving Yuuki all alone in her added misery.

In another place, far, far away from the Cross Academy grounds, a pair of different colored eyes slid open as their owner awoke from his half-slumber.

Rido blinked a couple of times before fully returning to his reality. A small smirk slowly spread over his face.

 _Things had certainly taken a rather_ unexpected _turn…hadn't they? And now…_

 _All he had to do was_ wait _…_


	25. Spreading Cracks

 

_Kaname didn't know how much time had passed or where exactly he was, but the moment he came back to his senses, all he could see, smell and feel…was blood. All around him, all over him – nothing but blood._

_Vampire blood._

_Foul and disgusting blood of dozens of Level E vampires._

_And then there were ashes. They were scattered all over the dark place the pureblood was currently in, dark-red in color now due to the sea of blood they were soaked with._

_Kaname blinked slowly before looking around, still a little dazed._

_His fingers twitched. His hand went up and his gaze shifted to it. It was covered in blood, too._

_Another blink._

_The realization did nothing to Kaname's still far from clear mind._

_Absently and very fleetingly, the pureblood wondered whether all the blood around and over him really did belong_ only _to Level Es. But that thought didn't stay for long as it was. And the vile smell hanging in the air only prompted it to leave sooner by helping Kaname reach his conclusion._

_There was a sigh. Then the pureblood took another still slightly dazed look around._

_And he still had no idea where he was – same as before._

_Not that it mattered anyway. Wherever he was, he had no business there any longer. And since it seemed like he had calmed down and somewhat returned to his much less dangerous and more rational self…he supposed it was safe to return now._

_Kaname drew a deep calming breath, involuntarily cringing at the smell of death in the air. Taking a step forward a moment later, he dissolved into a living black cloud of fluttering bats that circled around the dark room of apparently abandoned house once before flying away into the night._

**-o-**

"According to Yagari Touga and Cross Kaien, it was an attack by a rogue vampire that led Kiryuu Zero to his current state…" said the Hunter Association President as he made his way to his leather armchair and made himself comfortable there behind his mahogany desk. "Is that true?"

Kaito's already clenched fists tightened further. He couldn't believe those two. "I wasn't there. I can't know for sure."

"None of you were. Otherwise something like that would have never happened," came the President's calm reply. "But I still want to hear your opinion on the matter."

There was a short while of silence before the younger hunter decided to speak. "If Cross and Yagari said Zero was attacked by a 'rogue vampire', then that is what happened. There is no reason to doubt their words."

The President let out a derisive snort before answering, "Of course there is. How blind do you think I am?" It was a rhetorical question, so Kaito made no attempt to reply and just waited for the man before him to continue. Which happened soon enough. "I didn't ask for confirmation of your loyalty, Takamiya-kun. It is your _objective_ opinion on the matter that I want. So…" The President leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and intertwining his fingers as he rested his chin on top of them. "Let's try this again, shall we? _Who_ attacked Kiryuu Zero?"

That question was followed by another while of silence.

Then, having made up his mind, Kaito voiced his thoughts on the situation at hand.

**-o-**

Just like proper halves of one whole, they were opposites that reflected each other in pretty much everything they did. It wasn't that distinct – one either had to know them well to really tell the difference, or they had to _let_ the others see that difference by making it more obvious than it normally was.

That said, it didn't mean the two of them fully contradicted each other. Sure, they were two separate beings, but they were also one. They completed each other, expressed all the different, contradicting traits of one whole, complex being that a single person was. That was why they understood each other the way they did. That was also why they didn't really need words to communicate – not because of some freaky magical connection pretty much everyone assumed they had, no. They did feel each other, yes. And they did have a special – very special – connection. But it didn't enable them to _'read'_ – Ichiru couldn't help snorting internally at the silly notion – their other half's mind. That connection was only there because they _understood_ each other enough to simply _accept_ each other the way they were, to _let_ each other _in_ the way they were, unconditionally.

It had been there since before he could remember, it was still there and it would _always_ be there. Nothing and _no one_ could ever sever it no matter how hard they tried. Ichiru doubted even he and Zero themselves had any power over it. He was sure they wouldn't be able to break it, too, even if they ever wanted to do such a thing – absolutely unthinkable as the very notion itself was.

And for that Ichiru was grateful – for that invisible connection and for its strength. It had always given him some sense of security, even though he had never deemed it necessary – at least not until some while ago. He still refused to admit that he actually found comfort in that added sense of security, but deep down he knew that he did. And he hated it. He hated the fact that he actually _needed_ to draw comfort from anything at all. But there was nothing he could really do about it, was there? At least not anymore…

So he chose to bury it somewhere in the back of his mind and move on. Not forget – he would never be able to, as it would always be there gnawing at every wall of his consciousness with viciousness and mockery. But he could live with that. So long as his beloved twin was with him, so long as he _stayed_ with him, so long as he _chose_ him and so long as he _kept_ choosing _him_ over everybody else, Ichiru could – he _would_ – live with and through pretty much anything and everything. And he would make sure that Zero would be with him at that, alive and safe and sound and _happy_. He would never let his other half get hurt.

At least those were his true thoughts and honest intentions – they had always been that and it would never change. It was something Ichiru genuinely believed in and he had always thought that he would – that he _could_ – stay true to them. However…

_He had been wrong. And now they both – he and Zero – were paying the price. Zero more so than him, whereas he shouldn't._

_He_ shouldn't _…_

 _Because none of_ this _was supposed to happen._

But it had. And now Ichiru had to make everything _right_ again. And for that…

_He had to get out of here._

_And he had to return to his brother's side._

Which was exactly what he was going to do, no matter how many times he had to try.

"Dammit!"Ichiru cursed angrily when yet another one of his attempts at neutralizing Yagari's spells failed – and not just failed, but also _backfired_ on him. _Again_.

 _"Dammit…!"_ The teen repeated bitterly, hissing as he tightened his grip on his shaking hand. It was burned and bleeding and Ichiru could feel the tips of his fingers go numb.

This had never happened to him before. Sure, hunter spells had affected him in the past, especially when cast on him directly. But he could handle them, just like he could counter them, even render them void in most cases. He knew his own share of hunter charms, and he was good at them – _very_ good, if he might say so himself.

Whereas Zero was great with all kinds of weapons, especially the guns, Ichiru had mastered the art of hunter charms. An outcome that was fairly logical, if one really thought about it.

Being as sickly as he had been since his birth, he had spent most of his childhood in bed with nothing better to do than just lie there uselessly like a breathing corpse waiting for the end to come. Thankfully, Zero had always been there, by his side. He had kept him company, taken care of him, provided him with comfort, warmth and so, so much more…

But Zero couldn't always be with him, regardless of their wishes. Unlike him, his twin's body was healthy and strong enough to take his hunter training, and for that reason Zero often had to leave Ichiru's side.

Those times were the loneliest and dullest to Ichiru, and they were the hardest to get through. He remembered that back then the days seemed endless and the time couldn't pass quickly enough neither for his liking, nor for his sanity. He could do nothing but wait…wait…and _wait_. Which was frustrating, to say the least, especially if one took into consideration what an impossible task it was for any child to _wait_.

And in spite of a certain level of maturity Ichiru possessed even in those tender years, it was still unbearable to just stay there, all alone and chained to his bed due to his frustratingly weak body, and wait. So he had to find something to occupy himself with, something that would help him get through each day quicker without worsening his mostly permanently poor physical condition.

That was when he randomly found a book about hunter spells in his hands, which ended up igniting his interest in the subject. And so he immersed himself in reading and studying, practicing in those rare times when he was well and strong enough to do so, regardless of the strain it put on his body.

It took a lot of time, practice, stubbornness and failed attempts on his part, but eventually he managed to get there. He continued to practice at it even as a vampire. Admittedly, he did have difficulties with it at the beginning due to his newly altered physique. But he was able to overcome it, and after some time he actually managed to pretty much master his skills with hunter charms.

Which only added to his frustration _now_ , when those diligently honed skills of his weren't just useless, but were actually working _against_ him.

No matter what he did to try and neutralize Yagari's spells, nothing worked. No matter what method, charm or combination of those he used, every attempt failed. And if that wasn't bad enough, then the fact that each and every one of Ichiru's spells retaliated against him certainly was.

It just wasn'tright. _Something_ was _not_ right.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. _He_ wasn't supposed to be _this_ powerless against hunter magic that he had spent years to master. This was just _not_ right…

Letting out a shuddering breath, Ichiru swallowed a nervous lump in his painfully dry throat. Slowly, he got up from the floor and headed for the door on his still slightly shaky legs for the umpteenth time that day. He knew he was in no condition to do it yet, but he couldn't just stay put and wait – his patience was already wearing thin as it was.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then breathed out slowly. His trembling hand rose, about to draw another hunter symbol for yet another hunter spell on the wooden door with his blood that was still dripping from unhealed wounds on his still unpleasantly numb fingers, when…

Ichiru froze, his form tensing. For a few seconds that seemed like painful hours, the teen could neither move, nor _breathe_. When finally life seeped back into his surroundings, the first thing he felt was his heart racing uncontrollably in his chest, his rapid pulse echoing in his ears as unbidden _dread_ and _panic_ began to settle in.

After one long moment, his lungs resumed functioning more or less properly again, and Ichiru let out a shuddering breath. He knew what that feeling he had gotten overwhelmed with but a few seconds ago was. He knew what it meant, he knew _who_ was the source of it.

 _'Hunters…'_ Ichiru thought breathlessly to himself, strangely – and surprisingly – alarmed by the realization. _'A lot of them…'_

The only thing he _couldn't_ begin to comprehend was…

 _Why_ was it this intense? _Why_ was he so affected by it? _Why_ was he so… _frightened_...by it – by _them_ …?

Instinctively, Ichiru resumed his attempts at getting out of his temporary prison, this time with urgency.

He didn't know how soon exactly those hunters would arrive, but he knew for sure he had to get away before they did. Same as he knew that…

_They were coming for him._

_And that could never be good – at least not in his book, not for him. So before it was too late…_

_He_ needed _to get away_.

**-o-**

Kaname hadn't been himself since returning. And it wasn't only Takuma who had noticed it – everyone had. They had realized it the moment they got close enough to feel his dark, oppressive aura hanging over the academy like plague. In all honestly, Takuma thought it was a wonder all the nobles even found it in themselves to actually proceed past the gates and enter the Moon Dormitory. But an even bigger wonder was the fact that everyone _stayed_ when even Takuma himself couldn't help entertaining the idea of leaving every now and again in spite of his unwavering loyalty to his childhood friend and leader.

Though Takuma supposed he wasn't alone in that regard. He suspected everyone thought – no, _dreamed_ was probably more like it – about running away, only some chose not to do it due to their loyalty, same as him, whereas others were simply too afraid to act on their instincts, knowing such behavior could and most likely would get them in trouble. It always did. Aidou had proven that many times in the past. And unlike the aforementioned individual, they _were_ smart enough to learn from mistakes – both their own and others' with the latter being the most preferable of the two options.

But that could be contemplated at better times. Now, however…

"Kaname-sama…"

If their prince's silent rage and smothering anguish weren't enough…

Now there also were _hunters_ trespassing on their territory. Which was never a good thing – and it certainly wasn't _now_ , of all times.

"I'm sure you can sense them as it is, but…" Takuma started as carefully as he could. "There are hunters at the academy. Maybe…" He paused, swallowing nervously. There really had been too much stress going around lately. "Maybe it would be better if you…" the noble trailed off, unable to finish, too apprehensive to. He seriously should just _stop_ playing a mediator at every given opportunity. It wasn't only extremely stressful, but also dangerous – sometimes bordering on suicidal – with Kaname the way he was now.

"Maybe it would be better if I…do _what_ exactly…?" Kaname asked slowly in a dangerously calm and measured tone.

"Well…" _'Keeping down your killing intent would be a very nice idea for starters,'_ thought Takuma, but never voiced that exact opinion of his. He knew better than to do something so stupid like that.

No complete answer came from the blond in the end. Tense silence settled over the room. It lasted for some while until, surprisingly, Kaname interrupted it.

Letting out a soft sigh, the pureblood said, "It doesn't matter, Takuma. They are not here for me, so my presence shouldn't concern them. And even if I were their target, I couldn't care less about their perception of me."

That the noble knew. But _still_ …

"…Are they here for Ichiru-kun?"

"I believe so."

"Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

There was an impossibly long minute of tense silence before Kaname decided to reply.

"What do you suppose I _should_ do?"

Takuma didn't say anything, unable to muster a word out of himself. It was too terrifying even with Kaname's back turned to him as the pureblood stood by the tall window of his study observing the scenery outside.

But Kaname didn't really need an answer anyway. So he continued.

"Get rid of them? Protect _him_?"

"…I just think…Zero-kun would have-"

"I _know_ all too well what Zero-kun would have wanted. I always respected his wishes, always complied with them. And now…" Slowly, Kaname turned to look at Takuma for the very first time since the noble joined him in his study. "Now _look_ how well _that_ ended."

The noble's heart hammered in his chest in fear, his form stiff, paralyzed by his leader's cold, dark demeanor. It was unbearable – impossible almost – to breathe, let alone to actually speak, but the noble managed to muster enough strength and courage to do that, albeit not without difficulty.

"Don't do this to yourself, Kaname. It's not your fault this happened. You know that…"

Garnet eyes narrowed. They stayed on the blond for a few more tense seconds before turning back to the view outside the window.

Silence returned, heavier and longer than ever.

"…I should have killed him," Kaname said all of a sudden in a frighteningly calm, unemotional tone. "I should have killedhim the moment he started losing himself."

Emerald eyes widened in horror.

"No… I should have done it the moment his thirst awakened, before he even had the chance to have a taste of blood." Of _Zero's_ blood…

"Stop it, Kaname," Takuma said nervously with a weak attempt at a smile. "You can't mean it, not really."

"Of course I can," the pureblood replied in the same chillingly detached manner. "I domean it. I can still do it, actually. The moment they remove those annoying hunter spells that kept me out of that room the first time-"

"Kaname, _stop_ ," Takuma repeated more forcefully as he approached the pureblood and grabbed his arm without even realizing it. Had his mind been clearer, he wouldn't have done something so rash – certainly not with Kaname in his current state. He knew how dangerous the consequences of such actions were.

Takuma literally stopped breathing the moment his leader's coldly burning eyes turned to him, rendering him completely immobile.

"I-…I'm sorry," the noble managed to force out of himself after an impossibly long moment of stillness. Rigidly, he released the pureblood's arm from his hold. Lowering his head as a sign of reverent obedience, he repeated his apology, "Forgive me, Kaname-sama."

Takuma didn't dare to look up at the pureblood, too scared to meet the other's cold, burning with violent crimson eyes. He didn't see them, but he could _feel_ them. It was their dark gaze that filled him with dread and made him tremble uncontrollably with instinctive – and very reasonable – fear for his life.

That trembling didn't stop even when those eyes weren't on him anymore, and he still couldn't bring himself to look up, but at least he could breathe relatively normally again. As discreetly as he could, Takuma stepped away from Kaname the moment his ability to move returned to him. He should _really_ quit doing stuff like this.

 _"…I should have put an end to it while I could…"_ Kaname said after some time, his voice painfully distant.

Takuma chose not to argue this time around, quietly hoping for the better, for his friend not to do something he would without a doubt regret later.

Heavy silence reigned anew.

**-o-**

No matter what one might think of him, Kaito did have his share of doubts and regrets.

And he had them even now, when it had come to Ichiru. He had them about his decision to give the President of the Hunter Association his opinion on what had happened to Zero and the truth about the changes happening to Ichiru lately.

Maybe he was wrong about it. Maybe he was wrong about _everything_. Maybe Zero was right and Ichiru was stable. Maybe Yagari and Cross were right and it was better not to report anything concerning Ichiru and the Kiryuu twins in general to the Association.

And maybe, just _maybe_ , it wasn't necessarily so _wrong_ that they all were trying to make it work.

Kaito knew he probably would have done the same thing, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. He knew he probably would have tried, too, if it was _his_ brother. Had his brother been stabilized and not fallen to Level E…

_Most likely, Kaito would have accepted him just like Zero had accepted Ichiru._

_And he would have tried to make it work, too – his whole family would have, probably._

_Maybe at some point it would have actually become normal for him that his brother was a…_ vampire _._

At the last bit Kaito cringed in distaste. He couldn't help it – it was just the way he was.

 _He even didn't_ completely _exclude the very unlikely yet still existing possibility that, perhaps, he would have tried to help his brother stay alive by actually_ feeding _him, same as Zero did for Ichiru._

The hunter couldn't help grimacing at that. The very notion was repulsive, to say the least. He could see why one would do something like that, why Zero would do something like that, but he couldn't _relate_ toit no matter how hard he tried. It was still and probably would always be beyond him.

Regardless, Kaito could understand where the twins were coming from – where _Zero_ was coming from. And it was that which made him doubt himself when it came to Ichiru. And those doubts, in turn, brought about secret and very much denied regrets over his thoughts, words and actions towards the said teen.

All of those had been with him throughout his entire conversation with the President. Then, after it, he couldn't stop thinking that maybe he shouldn't have said anything, that maybe he should have said less, that _maybe_ he should have given Ichiru another chance…

But all those doubtful thoughts disappeared the moment he opened the door to Zero's room in the Hunter Association Hospital and laid his eyes on the older Kiryuu twin.

It had been days and Zero still hadn't woken up even once. Granted, he was alive, but that still didn't change anything. Ichiru had drained him to the point where his body just shut down and went into a coma, unable to function properly on its own.

It wasn't a game anymore. Ichiru had almost _killed_ his own flesh and blood – consciously or not. Kaito knew it hadn't been his intention to do so. He knew Ichiru would never purposefully hurt Zero – it was the only person the younger twin _truly_ cared for, after all. But even so, the bloodthirsty beast in him turned out to be stronger. After years of being deceitfully docile, it had shown its sharp teeth and vicious nature and completely taken over. For no longer than a few minutes, but it had. And those pathetic few minutes turned out to be more than enough to cause _this_ …

Zero was lucky to be alive – he was lucky _Cross_ had gotten there in time to _keep_ him alive. But luck was a cruel thing with fickle nature. It never stayed for very long, and it could easily abandon one on a mere whim at any given moment.

Next time they might not be as fortunate. Next time one of them might actually die – if not _all_ of them. _Next time…_

_...should never happen._

So he tried to make sure it _wouldn't_.

"They're probably on their way to the academy already…" Kaito stated in a calm, detached manner, heedless of two gazes focused on him – one angry, one terrified, both shocked with hints of unconcealed hurt in them. "I don't suppose they're going to kill him, but we all know how Ichiru is. Maybe it would bebetter for him and everyone else if one of you was there to keep the situation under control…"

Cross exhaled a shuddering breath. It was only then that Kaito noticed how pale the man had turned, how tired he looked, how badly his hands were trembling.

 _"Kaito-"_ Yagari started in a low, cold tone, all but growling out his name.

Kaito interrupted him before the senior hunter could continue. "I won't apologize for what I did. And I won't make any excuses," he said firmly, holding Yagari's furious gaze evenly. "I did what needed to be done, because the two of you refused to face the reality, and _this_ happened. So don't go reprimanding me for my actions when you _know_ I'm right."

Kaito's words were met with a heavy silence. It lasted for a while, briefly interrupted only once when Yagari muttered a curse under his breath before leaving the room in a hurry.

**-o-**

"It looks like he will live another day, after all, Takuma…" Kaname said in his unchanging chillingly detached manner Takuma was starting to slowly get used to – disturbingly. "At least for now…"

Cautiously, the noble looked up at his leader briefly before automatically shifting his attention outside the window, even though he could hardly see anything with his view obscured by the academy's thick forest. Frowning, Takuma extended his senses in an attempt to _feel_ what the pureblood meant by his words.

Emerald eyes widened in realization after a few seconds of searching.

Never in his life had Takuma been so happy to sense the Hunter Association's number one hunter's intimidating presence. He couldn't help breathing a small sigh of relief.

That didn't go unnoticed by Kaname.

"Why is it that you are so… _concerned_ about Ichiru-kun's well-being, Takuma? I don't exactly recall you two being such good friends…"

Tensing anew, the noble took a sharp breath. Every bit of relief he had previously felt disappeared, replaced by nervous fear once again.

"It is not _his_ well-being I am so concerned about, Kaname-sama." At least not primarily. First and foremost, the noble was worried for his dear friend and leader, for his state of mind, which he believed hadn't been the best recently. And that disturbed him, to say the least.

"I see… And you suppose _my_ well-being is related to his… _how_ exactly?"

Takuma hesitated before replying quietly, "…Zero-kun."

The noble didn't miss his friend's form tensing ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, nor the way he drew in a barely audible shuddering breath.

It was at that moment Takuma knew Kaname had more or less returned to his usual self. It was then he could breathe relatively freely again. So he resumed his attempts from before. "You know I'm right, Kaname-sama," he said slowly, softly. "You know how…" He had to pause to take another breath before continuing. "You _know_ how much they mean to each other, you know and understand it better than anyone..."

Of course Kaname did. How could he not? He had spent years watching the twins, quietly amazed by their special bond and secretly jealous of it. He could relate to it, too, but only to an extent, as he knew he would never be able to fully grasp it in its true depth.

"…That is what makes it all so frustrating," the pureblood said after a while, more to himself than to his loyal friend.

 _That was what made it all so_ unbearable _…_

Another long minute of silence passed.

Kaname breathed a long, weary sigh.

"You are dismissed, Takuma," the pureblood said at last, turning away from the window and heading for the door leading to his bedroom. "Make sure everything is in order and don't let anyone disturb me."

Takuma bowed respectfully. "Understood," he said quietly, following Kaname's retreating form with his still worried eyes.

**-o-**

A clank of chains resounded in a dark prison cell on the basement level of the Hunter Association building.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Ichiru said with a bitter chuckle and a wry smile. "The one who got me here…"

There was a long moment of silence. Then Ichiru got an answer to his rhetorical question.

"The only reason you're here is _you_ , Ichiru. You have become unstable, and it has to be dealt with," Kaito stated matter-of-factly. "But if it's easier for you to see it that way…then yes, I was the one who reported you to the Association. Just like I should have done a very long time ago…"

Ichiru snorted. "Just like you _wanted_ to do since a very long time ago, you mean. You've been waiting for the opportunity to either kill or report me since the day your hunter senses first told you I was a vampire. Or so it always seemed to me…at least until now."

Kaito's brows drew together briefly in a puzzled frown. "Oh? And what made you change your opinion?"

The chains of the handcuffs binding Ichiru to the stone floor made a soft clinking sound as he shifted slightly, leaning back against the cold wall behind him as he replied with a small knowing smirk, "You did."

A dark eyebrow arched. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kaito rested his back against the wall as well as he asked next, "How so?"

Ichiru's smirk widened. He savored a pause before replying, "Just look at yourself. Coming here looking all guilty even through your usual impenetrable façade of a tough hunter… What a sight you are, Kaito."

Brown eyes narrowed, hardening. "You're delusional."

"Am I really?"

"You are, if you actually believe the bullshit you just said is true."

"I _know_ it's true."

"Then you just proved that my decision was right, and _here_ is exactly where you belong," Kaito concluded, uncrossing his arms and pushing himself off the wall to leave.

But Ichiru's next words stopped him before he could reach the door.

"They won't get to put me down, Kaito," the silver-haired teen said evenly in a tone devoid of any mocking amusement that had been there only moments ago. "So you don't have to feel so guilty about it, whether that useless sentiment is directed towards nii-san or even _me_."

Kaito looked over his shoulder and half turned around to focus his gaze on Ichiru anew. Wordlessly, he waited for the teen to continue.

And Ichiru did. "They don't get to decide whether I live or not, not anymore. So if you really want to eliminate the threat that you believe I am…you better do it now while you can, because you won't get another chance."

"…That's not for me to do," Kaito answered after regarding Ichiru thoughtfully for a long minute. "Not my decision to make."

Ichiru snorted. "Then _this_ is as far as you will ever get."

Kaito didn't say anything in response. His lips pressed together into a thin line, the hunter turned away and headed for the door anew. His fingers were already on the handle when Ichiru's voice stopped him once again.

"How is he...?" Ichiru asked quietly next, all traces of smug condescendence gone from his tone. Kaito actually thought there was an apprehensive quiver in the other's voice, no matter how well concealed. "How is nii-san?"

There was a sigh. "He is…stable," Kaito replied, looking over his shoulder once more. "At least for now. Still hasn't regained consciousness though."

There was a hint of quiet relief that passed over Ichiru's features. And there were worry and guilt that Kaito knew couldn't be more genuine.

Violet eyes lowered, lost in thought. "I see…"

Kaito let his gaze linger on Ichiru for another long moment, then turned away, pushed the door of the cell open and left.

Silence that settled after that was deafening.

For a very long while, Ichiru just sat there motionless, staring unblinkingly into nowhere.

Then, closing his eyes and bowing his head a bit, he let out a long shaky breath as he tried to clear his head and truly calm down at long last.

Once again, he needed to think. And he needed to think _really_ hard to get himself – to get _them_ – out of _this_ mess.


	26. Crumbling Walls

 

It was at times like this that Kaname truly realized – that he was _forced_ to realize – just how frighteningly fragile humans were in comparison to his kind. So easy to hurt, so easy to break, so easy to damage and kill and so susceptible to all external forces that could so easily cause their untimely demise. Even such a thing as a simple _cold_ could irrevocably damage and even _kill_ them – something that could _never_ happen to someone of Kaname's practically invincible, immortal kind.

Such fragility, while somewhat precious in its own way, was frightening to Kaname. It never failed to bring him back to cruel reality of his own exasperatingly stubborn foolishness. It never failed to give that same cruel reality the opportunity to mock him in the most vicious of ways, to remind him of what would inevitably come, of how stupid and futile and doomed his feelings were, of how doomed _he_ was, of how doomed he _let himself_ become due to those same feelings he had no control over.

Kaname had always believed that Zero's being a hunter made him stronger, made him much less… _breakable_ …than an average human. Which it did, at least for the most part. But it still wasn't enough. He still wasn't strong enough, he still wasn't unbreakable or immortal and he _still_ was too fragile for Kaname's liking, and that fact did nothing to help him get his fears and uncertainties to go away.

He always remembered that the inevitable would come. The fact that all too soon time and death would deprive him of the one he loved with all his heart was always somewhere at the back of his mind, crawling there disgustingly and scratching with mocking, darkly playful viciousness at the walls of his consciousness every now and then. It whispered prophecies of what he very well knew would come true one day in the future too near for his liking. It filled his mind with devastating images he never wanted to see materialize before his eyes, it provided him with possibilities too close to turning into bitter reality of his life, and it always brought with it the thoughts of methods to prevent the inevitable from happening.

As soon as he realized the presence of those dangerously tempting yet forbidden thoughts, however, he forced them away. Not completely, as they refused to leave him alone for good. They just retreated for a bit, becoming less present and persistent, but still staying there with him.

Those thoughts would come and go. Sometimes Kaname would turn them down right away, sometimes he would play with them and entertain all the possibilities, unable to help himself, unable to hold back. But then he would still chase them away, ashamed of himself and his uncharacteristic lack of self-control.

He should have given up by now. He really _should have_. But he hadn't, and probably never would, in spite of all the common sense in the world that told him what was the right and safer and easier – at least in some ways it certainly seemed so – route to take. He wouldn't give up because he didn't truly want to do so – the fact that he was well aware of by now. But he wouldn't make a move either, unable to do so due to his cowardice born of uncertainty.

He was all but frozen in time and space that way, suspended somewhere at the crossroad, unconsciously waiting – hoping even – for that small push that would help him finally take action. And it seemed like the moment for that to happen was getting closer, as the first contact had certainly been made and now there were cracks in his protective shell that was slowly starting to crumble.

**-o-**

"I want to see him," Kaname said evenly in a tone more appropriate for a demand rather than a request that his words were supposed to be. "I want to see Zero-kun."

Cross breathed a heavy, exhausted sigh. "You know it's impossible. No vampire is allowed in there, least of all a pureblood one."

"You know I am not a threat. Surely you can convince them to make an exception."

"Kaname-kun-"

"You can, can't you?"

Cross let out another long sigh as he took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowed in tired concentration. "I can," he replied after a short while. Then he looked up and added, "But I won't."

Unconsciously, Kaname curled his fingers into tight fists before asking through gritted teeth, "Why on earth not?"

"You do realize what you are asking of me, right?" Cross replied with a question of his own, tilting his head slightly to the side, his frown deepening. "You know how such an _exception_ would look, how it would be perceived not only by the Hunter Association but by the Vampire Council as well. And considering our current situation with Ichiru-kun…" The man trailed off with a small sigh. Then his eyes softened and he continued imploringly, "You can understand why I refuse to fulfill your request…can't you…?"

Kaname pursed his lips and tightened his fists, his nails biting into the skin of his palms. He didn't say anything in response and only lowered his gaze, knowing all too well where the hunter was coming from and what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry, Kaname-kun," Cross spoke again after a few long moments of heavy silence. He approached the pureblood and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I really am," he finished, giving Kaname's shoulder a gentle squeeze before walking past the brunet and leaving altogether.

So Kaname was alone again, surrounded by nothing but the suffocating silence of the room.

Not for the first time, he could do nothing but _wait_ – frustratingly, impossibly _annoyingly_ so. He hated it, always had, but _now_ more than ever. The same way he hated every bit of his pureblood – and vampire in general – nature right at these very moments. He hated the way it gave him immense power yet prevented him from doing what he _truly_ wanted, cruelly rendering him completely useless at the most important and the least appropriate times.

He wanted to see Zero. He wanted to hear the gentle yet strong hum of his heartbeat that he had always secretly enjoyed listening to. He wanted to feel the teen's warmth that he could never properly restrain himself from seeking, just as secretly basking even in the tiniest, faintest bit of it that he could get. He wanted to inhale Zero's sweet scent that he had always savored as inconspicuously as he only could. He wanted…

_He wanted to touch Zero…to feel his skin, to feel its warmth and the life pulsing beneath it…_

He wanted to confirm for himself that Zero was alive and breathing. He _needed_ it. So he _would_ do it.

_Or he would try to do so, at the very least. And not just once or twice. However, every attempt would end in failure due to his pureblood vampire nature, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So all there would be left for him to do would be…wait. Uselessly, frustratingly, endlessly, desperately…_

And so Kaname would wait…

And wait…

And wait some _more_ , unable to do anything, like so many, many, _frustratingly many_ times before…

Honestly, he should have gotten used to _that_ by now. Nothing ever quite went his way when it came to Zero or to the Kiryuu twins in general. Their very existence was a force beyond controlling. They had entered his life and changed it without his knowledge or consent without even trying or really doing anything. And Kaname hadn't noticed anything until it had gotten too late. Not that his awareness would have changed anything anyway.

So he had to surrender and leave everything in the hands of fate. Again.

He had to restrain every urge and emotion he was experiencing and just…

 _God, he_ hated _the very word._

…just _wait_.

And it would be that way for a few impossibly, unbearably long weeks…

**-o-**

It came in phases, whatever was happening to him. Not very long but nonetheless unbearable phases.

He would suddenly feel sick and start to suffocate, his chest would constrict painfully, his throat would go dry and as though close up, his limbs would weaken and start trembling, unable to support him any longer. His blood would boil – very much _literally_ boil, for Ichiru could swear that was exactly the sensation he had felt under his freezing yet burning skin at those times.

And then there would be hunger. Not just thirst, but real _hunger_. It wouldn't be just blood Ichiru would crave but also actual flesh – fresh, bleeding, trembling in fear and desperation and agonizing helplessness, warm flesh.

He would always feel disgusted during those moments, to his greatest relief, for that allowed him to assume he was still sane, still himself with at least some normal – or so they were viewed and accepted as by society, at the very least – human emotions in him left. But the hunger wouldn't cease still. On the contrary, it would only intensify from his overly active and vivid imagination that was generous enough to provide him with a disturbingly remarkable variety of suggestions.

That scared Ichiru for real each time. Never in his life had he felt more frightened and disgusted with himself than during those dark moments of all-consuming madness. But as disturbed as the more rational side of his being would feel, the more carnal and beastly one would be just as excited, just as exhilarated, if not even more so. It would relish those delirious, seemingly impossibly long minutes, it would thrive on them and fully embrace them, quietly beckoning him to do the same, to let himself drown in that compelling darkness and just _let go_ of everything else.

He had managed to resist each time – barely, but he had. But every time it would get more difficult, every time it would seem less and less achievable, and every time he would feel even less desire to actually fight the temptation, completely forgetting _why_ he even resisted it in the first place, _why_ he was so wary of it.

_Honestly, though, why…?_

He didn't know what was ahead of that steadily approaching darkness. He had no way of even predicting it. So what exactly was it that made him regard it so cautiously…?

Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe it wasn't dangerous at all… On the contrary, maybe it was for the best, maybe it was just what he craved and needed, maybe it was actually right to just… _give in to it_ …

Such thoughts of his gained all the more plausibility and seemed all the more rational and _right_ with every passing day. So much so that they made all the unnecessary – or so those seemed to Ichiru by now – doubts, boundaries and inhibitions slowly fade away. They made his wariness of the changes occurring within his body and mind weaken, retreat, dissipate…

And then, at some point, it stopped. And everything froze. Everything around and within him. And all ceased to exist. Just like that. Altogether.

That was the beginning of another phase.

And so the pain, darkness and madness were gone and forgotten, and Ichiru felt so light and renewed and…everything around him seemed so clear and simple it was almost scary. He could see everything, hear everything, feel everything, _understand_ everything so much better now. It was as though he was completely in harmony with his surroundings, and never in his life had he felt more calm and at peace.

Slowly, as though coming out of a long, long and deep slumber, Ichiru opened his eyes.

And all of a sudden, everything was clear, his mind was focused and undisturbed by doubts, fears, annoying noises and lurking shadows. He was _free_ at last…

Ichiru straightened up and sat in a more upright manner.

It felt like he was invincible at those moments. The shackles restraining him didn't matter. They suddenly seemed so light and fragile that they might as well not be there at all, as though his slightest movement could break the chains and turn the irons around his wrists into dust. And the hunter spells…

They didn't matter as well.

They were there, he could feel them, but that was it. They didn't hurt him, didn't restrain him, didn't affect him – at least not as strongly as they had mere seconds before. They just weren't powerful enough anymore.

It felt like nothing could affect him at these moments, as though he had turned into some kind of an ultimate, invincible version of himself, as though he could just get up, get rid of all the shackles and spells binding him to this prison cell without even making an actual effort and leave – simply walk out, eliminating everything and _everyone_ in his way, leaving nothing but ruins of the grand Hunter Association headquarters behind.

 _Oh, what a marvelous feeling_ that _would have given him…_

Before he could come out of his daze of stunning awareness and actually do something, however, it ended just as suddenly as it had started.

And he was struggling with whatever was crawling within him and close to being completely powerless all over again.

 _"Dammit…!"_ Ichiru whispered with a groan as he leaned forward and curled into himself for the nth time. His shoulders must have hurt from how much his arms were strained, pulled back by the chains binding him to the wall, but he didn't feel the pain – he couldn't, for it was overshadowed by all the other sensations assaulting his system.

_Among all that, however, there was also something Ichiru's mind had managed to grasp…_

Those assaults of absolute clarity seemed to last a little longer each time. That and…

Whenever he came out of that weird state, everything seemed to be…not quite as it had been before. As though he hadn't _completely_ returned, as though he hadn't _fully_ recovered from that… _condition_ …as though…

_As though he had taken a tiny part of that more powerful and perfect version of himself and brought it back with him...and now it actually made whatever was happening to him just a little bit easier to bear._

Slowly, Ichiru let out a shuddering breath as his chest constricted painfully, his body resonating with a strong impulse.

It wasn't as excruciating as before, he realized. He could actually breathe – not freely, but _could_ , at the very least – and his conscious mind was still there with him, so he was somewhat aware of his surroundings, even if only vaguely.

_Just a bit longer…_

In order to either get used to it or for _it_ – whatever the hell it was – to calm down, he needed to endure it for a bit longer.

Not that there was any other option anyway.

**-o-**

_It was dark and cold…_

_And empty…_

_Mostly cold, though… Unusually, frighteningly, devastatingly so…_

_And lonely…_

_He felt as though something was missing. Something important. Something that had always been there with him and for him. Something he never wanted to lose, something he wasn't ready to let go. Something…_

_Something that was a part of him._

_Precious…_

_Irreplaceable…_

_Essential…_

_Something that was too great a presence within him for him to be able to simply leave its sudden loss and go on just like that._

_Unable to see anything in this pitch-black place he was imprisoned in and feeling nothing but lonely coldness, he tried to reach out with his senses and find that familiar quiet, tender warmth. However…_

_It wasn't there._

The realization came as a shock, chilling Zero to the core. The cold darkness clinging to him became suffocating all of a sudden.

_For once, it was completely gone and there was not a single trace of it left._

A wave of uneasiness swallowed him.

_Why…?_

_Where had it gone?_

_Why had it disappeared in the first place?_

_Where was it now…?_

_He still struggled to name the source of that comforting warmth. It was there in his head, he knew it well, but it felt as though it was shrouded in a thick blanket of some kind of fog that just-_

'Ah…'

_It suddenly cleared up._

'Ichiru…' _That name he had been searching for flashed through Zero's mind, and he remembered._

_His twin, his other half. It was him, the one who was the source of that warmth he so missed._

How could he have forgotten…? But more importantly…

Why _wasn't Ichiru with him…?_

_Another wave of uneasiness, this one bigger, strengthened by sudden fear._

_Ichiru was always there. Even when they weren't in close proximity to each other, Zero could still sense his twin's presence somewhere at the edge of his consciousness. Now, however…_

There was nothing. Not a single trace or even sign of Ichiru's existence within him. It was just… _gone_ …all of a sudden.

_Something was wrong._

'Ichiru…'

 _It_ had to _be. He wouldn't have left him all alone otherwise._

'Where are you…?'

**-o-**

"Is Kaname-sama staying in again?" Aidou asked Ichijou as he spotted the older blond descending the stairs. They were all ready to go to school now, and judging by the fact that Ichijou was alone, their leader wouldn't be joining them this night as well. It had actually been that way for a while now.

Ichijou gave the group of vampires a weak smile. "Yes, I'm sorry to say that he is." Aidou could tell that the other was exhausted – they all could tell, and they all felt the same way, too. It was the pressure of being in this place, the nervous tension caused by the necessity to constantly be on full alert, to be as careful as they only could not to do anything that might upset their beloved prince. It felt like they were living on a massive landmine that was ready to explode at any moment. One wrong step, move or action on their part – and they were all done for.

It was suffocating.

"Shall we go?" Ichijou suggested then, already making his way to the door.

"What's the point? It's not like we actually need to take those classes…" Aidou half-mumbled as he lowered his gaze. In spite of his words, however, he did move forward and towards the door with the rest of their group.

"We have to maintain the appearance of normalcy, Aidou-kun. And besides…" Ichijou turned to look at him over his shoulder with that same weak smile still on his face. Only this time there were obvious hints of exhaustion and uneasiness there as well. "Would you rather stay _here_?"

That question didn't require an answer, for the choice couldn't be easier to make. And it was one they all agreed on.

Ichijou opened the door and the group of vampires slowly filed out of the dormitory building. It was quiet – remarkably so, especially considering the levels of noise they had had to endure on a daily basis ever since they had started attending the academy. But it had been this way for some while now, and the Night Class students thought they were actually slowly getting used to this deafening quietness brought on by the absence of their fangirls.

And the only reason for that, too, was their leader.

Kaname's dark mood and suffocating aura didn't affect just them. It had a strong influence on the Day Class students as well. Their survival instincts told them not to get close, not to disturb the strongest and most dangerous creature in the vicinity, and they couldn't help but obey. It was mostly the same for vampires, too. The only difference was that humans had no idea what it was that frightened them so much that they had to stay away, whereas vampires knew the reason all too well, which was probably why they _could_ stay in relatively close proximity to the source of danger.

"Is there any news?" Aidou spoke again after some while, unable to take the tense silence any longer.

"On what exactly?" Ichijou replied without averting his gaze from the path straight ahead of them.

"…The Kiryuus…"

There was a sigh, Ichijou's shoulders slumped a bit. "No, nothing new." And he couldn't decide whether that was actually a bad thing or not. Sure enough, they wanted and _needed_ some news, but only if it was positive. Any other kind would only make things worse – much, much _worse_. And _then_ they would have to _seriously_ fear for their lives.

"…Is there…anything we can do to help?" Aidou asked another question.

Ichijou smiled sadly as he cast the other a brief knowing glance before answering, "I'm afraid at this stage we can do nothing but wait."

Well, Aidou had guessed as much. "I see…" he replied, his gaze lowered, turquoise eyes clouded slightly in thought.

The rest of their short trip was spent in silence.

**-o-**

"Your being here won't help speed up his recovery." Yagari said as he entered the Hunter Association hospital room that Zero was held in. "Go home and rest, Cross."

"I'm not tired," Cross replied without taking his eyes off his older adopted son. "But thank you for your concern, Touga-kun."

Yagari breathed a heavy sigh. He automatically reached for his pack of cigarettes and almost pulled one out when he remembered where he was. Scowling, the raven-haired hunter cursed softly under his breath and put the smokes away. Everything just kept getting on his nerves.

"How's the kid?" Yagari asked then, stepping closer to the only bed in the room and looking over Zero's unconscious form.

"Still no changes. But he is stable, which is good, considering…"Cross had to pause to swallow back the lump in his throat. Unconsciously giving Zero's hand a gentle squeeze, he finished, "Considering the alternative."

There was another deep sigh before Yagari's voice sounded again. "I see…"

The two lapsed into deep silence. It lasted for some while until Cross found the strength to break it with a question of his own.

"…How is Ichiru-kun?" That was what he had wanted to ask since the very beginning but was too afraid to do so, afraid of the answer he would hear. And Yagari's next words only proved that he had been right.

"Not good." There was an unbearably long moment of heavy silence before the raven-haired hunter continued grimly. "There's no way to say for sure, but… It does look like he's starting to lose it."

Cross's fingers automatically tightened around Zero's hand, his already stiff form tensed further. Discreetly, he drew in a shuddering breath.

"You know what will happen next, if his condition doesn't improve." Yagari lowered his voice to a near whisper when he continued next. "And if it does come to that, then we'll have to act, and fast."

"…Then we will."

**-o-**

It had stopped.

Ichiru had no idea how and why, but for whatever reason, it had finally _stopped_. All of it.

The pain had faded away.

The shadows had retreated.

The voices had died down.

The darkness had dissolved.

The suffocating coldness, the scorching heat, the unbearable hunger…all had vanished.

It was so… _quiet_ and _peaceful_ all of a sudden…

Ichiru opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. As expected, he was still in his cell and still restrained, but the hunter handcuffs didn't seem to have their previous effect on him – same as the spells the room was branded with. Somehow they felt so much weaker now…to the point of being non-existent.

Ichiru wondered about the change briefly, but the thought was soon forgotten in favor of another realization that started sinking in.

Slowly, he looked up, every muscle in his body growing tense, lilac eyes flashing bright red as they focused on something beyond the walls of the prison cell.

A long minute of complete stillness passed.

Ichiru's fingers twitched.

A few moments later tension seeped out of the teen's form, his chest slowly fell as he finally let himself resume breathing.

Now he wondered how he hadn't noticed _this_ before.

Hunters, dozens of them – their presences, to be exact. Now, that wasn't the least bit surprising, considering where he was. But he hadn't sensed any of that before – hunter charms had been muting even the few presences in closest proximity almost completely, and his previous state hadn't been of any help either. Although Ichiru was more than certain that even in those conditions nothing could have prevented him from sensing _this_. It all was just too… _intense_ and _unsettling_ …to miss.

Every cell in his body was reacting, making warning bells in his mind go off like crazy and his skin crawl disgustingly.

He could feel them all – each and every one of them – on a whole new level, and their presences were now affecting him in a completely different way. But it wasn't just that, no. For some reason, his other senses also seemed to have gone into some kind of overload, as they had by now started showing their disturbingly heightened level as well.

Ichiru could swear he could actually… _hear_ them, _smell_ them, even… _see_ them to an extent – a very limited one, but still…

He could feel it all.

And he knew very well that it was _not_ normal for him to be able to perceive _that_ much on _that_ kind of level. Something had happened – something was _still_ happening to make him this way, and he had no idea _what_ exactly. But he _needed_ to know. Because convenient as all these sudden changes may seem and actually be, to say that they left him disturbed would be one hell of an understatement.

He didn't feel like himself anymore. Everything seemed foreign to him, even his own body and mind.

Ichiru closed his eyes and lowered his head slowly with a long sigh, tired and drowsy all of a sudden. His body went lax of its own accord, his eyelids got so heavy he barely managed to get them to open anew.

Again, another change from one extreme to another. He was seriously getting sick of it all by now.

Slowly, Ichiru's head lowered further, his eyelids started to droop. He was falling asleep again, and he didn't want that. For some reason, it just felt like he wouldn't be able to return from wherever unconsciousness was going to take him. He was afraid he would be out for too long – or worse, wouldn't wake up at all. And in his case, either was probable and neither could be allowed to come true.

Unfortunately for him, however, he had no say in the matter, as once again, he wasn't strong enough to fight.

_There was a shuddering sigh. Ichiru's breathing slowed down, his muscles completely relaxed and his eyes fluttered shut._

So he had no choice but to succumb to darkness once more.

**-o-**

"For someone who claims to hate every vampire without an exception you seem awfully concerned about this one," said one of the hunters guarding the entrance to the basement floor where prison cells were located as Kaito approached. "What's the matter, Takamiya? Guilty conscience?" There was unmistakable mockery in those words, but Kaito chose to ignore it and not respond to the provocation, at least not visibly. Like hell he would give the bastard the satisfaction.

"That's none of your damn business. Just step aside and let me through." He replied calmly in his usual manner without looking at either of the two guards.

"Come now, don't insult the guy. Surely he just likes seeing that Kiryuu brat suffer is all." The second hunter gave his own version with a shrug in the same derisive manner as his partner, all the while blatantly ignoring Kaito's words.

Letting out a long sigh, Kaito closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose tiredly. He was exhausted and his head hurt, and these idiots were making it all worse by grating on his nerves with their stupid remarks. He really had neither time nor energy for _this_.

"Like I said, it's none of your or anyone's concern why the hell I check on him. It's not a crime."

"It's not." One of the guards agreed. "But such frequent visits do draw certain _suspicions_ that won't do you any good, Takamiya."

Kaito's eyes narrowed as he regarded the man. "And what _are_ those suspicions?"

It was the second guard that answered the question, all traces of amusement and mockery gone from his tone. "The ones that could make others start questioning your loyalty."

" _And_ start suspecting you of possible treason." Added the second one.

 _'Loyalty?_ Treason _?'_ Kaito let out a loud snort of derision. _'_ Really _now…?'_

"That's ridiculous." He voiced his opinion.

"No, such reaction is only natural." The first guard countered. "You would've understood it had you not let yourself get so deeply involved with that group of vampire lovers."

Okay, that was it.

Fed up with all the crap and not willing to wait and be polite any longer, Kaito pushed past the two hunters and went his way with his final response, "Just mind your own business and stay the hell out of mine."

"Don't say we didn't warn you!" The more talkative guard threw at Kaito's retreating back while his partner just grumbled something unintelligible.

Kaito promptly ignored them both as he continued on his way to Ichiru's cell – a route that had, admittedly, become awfully familiar to him by now.

His brow twitching in irritation, the hunter cursed softly under his breath as the guards' words invaded his mind anew. But he quickly pushed them aside and concentrated on the matter at hand.

Taking one last turn, Kaito walked another few meters before stopping at his destination. For some while, he stayed where he was, not moving, only gazing at the door in front of him thoughtfully, almost unblinkingly. Then life returned into his body and he took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. His hand reached out and opened the door to the prison cell Ichiru was in, finding the said teen exactly where he had been the last time Kaito had visited him. And as far as he could tell in the darkness, in the exact same state.

He was asleep – whether it was _'still'_ or _'again'_ Kaito had no idea, but he certainly hoped it was a good sign. Anything was better than having Ichiru on the rampage, right...?

But the thought wasn't very comforting, and it failed miserably at easing Kaito's reluctant worry for the younger Kiryuu twin. His state was...disturbingin its instability, to say the least. Granted, it didn't look like Ichiru was getting worse anymore, but it didn't look – or feel – like he was getting better either. Which wasn't thatbad, considering other possibilities, but still...

Kaito let out a sigh. It was only then that he moved away from the door after a few minutes of observation from a distance. Coming to a halt a few steps away from Ichiru, he squatted to take a better look at the silver-haired teen. For another while, he continued his careful observation.

His worry grew – reluctant as he was to admit that the sentiment even had been there in the first place. But that was the only possible and rational reaction to Ichiru's current state.

The teen was still. Completely still. _Alarmingly_ so. Kaito had to wonder whether he was even breathing, which was another cause for concern.

"…Ichiru," Kaito called quietly but got no response, as expected.

Cautiously, he extended his hand and felt Ichiru's neck for a pulse. A few long seconds later, the hunter let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

It was there, the soft beat of Ichiru's heart – unusually slow and somewhat muffled, but still there. Sure enough, that hardly put Kaito's mind completely at ease, but the fact that Ichiru was actually alive and breathing despite looking like a corpse was good enough to alleviate some of his worries at least for now.

Kaito heaved a deep sigh of weary resignation.

Why on earth was he here? _Again_ …? _Why_ did he keep coming? Over and over and _over_ again…? It wouldn't change anything. His presence wouldn't help in any way, he knew that. Just like he knew that he was simply wasting his time on these fruitless visits.

Yet he couldn't stop. But not because he felt guilty or regretted the choice he had made by telling the truth about what had really happened to Zero, no. He knew that had been the right thing to do, and an inevitable one at that. It would have happened eventually anyway. It _should have_ , it had been bound to since the beginning. They all knew it, _had known_ it all along, and the fact that everyone else had been stubbornly ignoring the reality and pretending like everything would be fine didn't change that harsh truth.

Kaito, however, had never allowed himself to ignore and forget. On the contrary, he had made it a point to remind himself whenever he got dangerously close to forgetting. It had been the wise thing to do and the only way to make it somewhat easier when the time came. He had always believed it and he had always thought that he had been rather successful in following that same belief of his, however...

Looking at things now, when that dreaded time had actually come, he couldn't help thinking that maybe his confidence had been nothing but a simple denial of the disappointing truth that he had failed miserably in what was probably an attempt to protect himself from another bitter loss.

Because he didn't think it was easier – it didn't feel that way at all. And the fact that everything that was currently happening was inevitable hardly helped, contrary to Kaito's wishes and expectations.

There was another sigh.

These stupid brothers would ruin them all.

**-o-**

Meanwhile in another place not so far away, a pair of lavender eyes slowly fluttered open.


	27. Rising Dust

 

Zero woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. It was dark and his vision was blurry, so he couldn't tell anything apart at first, but after a while it got better and what he could only assume was the moonlight allowed him to see enough to realize that he didn't have the slightest idea where he was.

Then a beeping sound registered in Zero's mind, and he slowly turned his head towards its source, vaguely realizing that his neck hurt and that it was surprisingly difficult to move – so much so that even a simple act of turning his head seemed like a struggle.

A small frown crossed Zero's features when his eyes found a life support machine near his bed. Still groggy, he tried his hardest to take a better look around the unfamiliar room. It was only after that that his initial suspicion was confirmed. For some reason…

He was in a hospital – or so it seemed.

How and why on earth he had ended up there, however, he had no idea.

A thought of getting up crossed the teen's mind then, but he almost immediately realized that it was impossible, as it felt like there wasn't enough strength in his body to let him fulfill his wish. Even lifting his fingers seemed strenuous to him now, so performing any other act of moving his limbs was certainly out of the question.

A small noise from somewhere beside him attracted his attention. Slowly, Zero turned his head to see its source, only to find Cross sitting in a chair, sleeping in the most uncomfortable position that was bound to give him cramps later. And as Zero observed the man, he couldn't help letting out a small snort of amusement upon noticing how far his glasses had slipped from his nose. Zero was sure they would fall any second now. Absently, he wondered whether that would interrupt his adoptive father's sleep or not.

He didn't get to find out though, as Cross started waking up of his own accord, and adjusting his glasses was the first thing he did after blinking the sleep away from his eyes – probably an unconscious action on his part, one caused by pure force of habit.

For a moment there Zero actually felt a bit disappointed that he had missed the opportunity to see something that he deemed fairly funny for some reason – stupid and childish as that may be.

Then Cross looked up, visibly drowsy still.

A small frown crossed Zero's features as he observed the man by his side more carefully. He looked so…tired, _exhausted_ … And not in his usual way, not just from lack of sleep due to his workload, but from constant strain and total lack of adequate nourishment. Because from what Zero could see even in his current weirdly weakened and only partially lucid state, it seemed like Cross hadn't slept or eaten properly in _weeks_.

"Z-Zero…kun…?" Came the man's quiet, for some reason hoarse and somewhat quivering voice. "Oh, Zero-kun…" He repeated his name, a smile spread over his face. Zero thought the blond man's eyes turned watery there, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, it only made his overall confusion grow. "You're awake…you're finally awake…" Cross continued, by now bending over Zero as he stood right at his bedside. Very carefully, very gently, he placed one of his hands on his adoptive son's head. It stayed there for a long moment before shifting to stroke Zero's hair softly, tenderly. "We were so worried…We thought…"

Cross didn't finish, only taking a long, shaky breath instead. Zero blinked groggily, his frown slowly returning and deepening. He really needed someone to tell him what on earth was going on. But first…

Zero opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but nothing came out. He tried again, but failed this time around as well. It was only then that he realized how parched he was.

Cross seemed to have noticed it, too, as the man quickly left his side with a muttered _'Wait just a bit…'_ and disappeared from his range of vision before returning with a glass of what looked like water not a minute later. Carefully, he helped Zero drink some of it, smiling softly when he received a weak from apparent drowsiness grateful look from the silver-haired teen.

"Better now?" Cross asked softly as he put the glass away.

Zero gave a small nod. Clearing his throat, he tried to speak once more. "I-" he started in a hoarse, barely audible voice. "Ichi-…ru…Wh-…where…"

Cross's eyes widened, his smile fell. It returned after only a moment, but it wasn't the same as before. There was a hint of uneasiness in it this time around.

The older hunter's hand was back on Zero's head, patting it gently again. "It's okay, Zero-kun, I got it. You shouldn't strain yourself by speaking any more than that."

The teen wouldn't normally just listen to the man quietly. But as it was now, he was too tired to argue. And he could already feel he was slowly getting pulled back into sleep. So he just nodded weakly and waited for his adoptive father to answer his unfinished question.

Cross exhaled a quiet, shuddering breath. Then, with a smile as reassuring as he could only muster, he finally spoke, "Ichiru-kun is alright, Zero-kun. So don't worry and just get some rest, okay? I will answer all your other questions later when you're better, I promise."

Zero breathed a soft sigh of relief that washed over him at Cross's words. He still had no idea what had happened and what was currently going on, so he certainly had a whole lot of questions to ask his guardian. But he had already received an answer to the most important one of those questions, so just for now, it was fine to let go. Especially since it didn't look like he had much choice anyway.

 _Darkness started creeping from the corners of his now somewhat blurry vision. It got impossibly difficult to keep his eyes open and focused – never in his life had his eyelids felt_ that _heavy to him._

Zero thought he gave Cross another nod in response to his suggestion, but he couldn't be sure, as his surroundings just started disappearing so quickly he couldn't even begin to try maintaining his feeble grasp on them.

_So he surrendered, at least for now. With a deep sigh, he let his eyes slide shut and drifted back into dreamland._

**-o-**

Zero started to suspect that something was wrong and everyone was trying to hide the truth about what had happened and was happening after regaining consciousness for the third time.

It was pretty obvious – the demeanor Cross and Yagari showed and the way they answered and at the same time avoided answering his questions were enough for Zero to realize. It was a wonder how two adults – and two most feared, cunning, skilled hunters at that – could fail at deceiving a mere teenager so miserably.

But that was a good thing, as it only confirmed Zero's initial suspicions.

So when Kaito visited him next for the first time, Zero cut straight to the chase, tired of being kept in the dark and hoping that the older hunter would be the insufferable asshole that he usually preferred to be – especially when it came to voicing his opinion about him and Ichiru – and that he wouldn't be able to keep his big mouth shut this time around as well.

"Where's Ichiru?" Was the first thing Zero asked the moment Kaito closed the door after himself.

Kaito's eyes widened, brows rose. Taken aback, he paused at the door for a second, unable to move.

Then, blinking, he finally came out of his short-lived daze and replied with a snort, "Well, it's good to see you too, Zero. I'm glad that you've recovered so nicely."

"Yeah, now cut the crap and answer my question."

Kaito arched an amused eyebrow. "That's not really an attitude of someone asking for help, you know."

"I don't care. I want an honest answer, and I want it now." Zero was getting impatient, and Kaito's open ironic amusement and deliberate stalling hardly made matters any better. The man just had a natural talent for being an annoying ass in pretty much any situation, didn't he? "But everyone keeps evading my questions, so you're my only option."

"Wow, what an honor," Kaito said sarcastically with another snort. "You have no idea how flattered I am."

"I can imagine," Zero shot back in the same manner. He sighed, starting to feel a bit tired all of a sudden. "Now, will you tell me or not?"

Kaito's expression turned serious then, all traces of amusement gone. "He's alive. That's all you need to know for now."

Zero frowned. " _That_ is all I need to know?" He repeated indignantly. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Right now it's the only useful information I have." He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

"Bullshit," Zero said accusingly. Kaito didn't respond.

Strained silence filled the room.

Unconsciously, Zero fisted the comforter his lower body was covered with. "… _Where_ is he?" He repeated his initial question. Kaito didn't fail to notice a slight quiver in the younger hunter's voice.

There was a resigned sigh followed by another short while of silence. Then Kaito caved in. "…At the academy."

Amethyst eyes widened, Zero's form visibly relaxed. Obviously, that bit of information brought the teen relief. But Kaito was quick to make sure it didn't last for very long.

"Don't get your hopes up too much, Zero. What Ichiru did is a serious offense. There is no way in hell he will get off the hook so easily – if ever."

Zero's frown returned, and so did the tension in his body. "And what exactly is it that he did?"

It was Kaito's turn to frown. "You don't remember…?"

"Why else would I ask?"

Silence returned, this time to stay for longer. It made Zero feel uneasy, same as Kaito's searching gaze on him.

The older hunter let out another sigh, his shoulders dropped a bit. "You're not an idiot, Zero. You can put two and two together on your own, if you haven't already."

Zero's eyes widened briefly. He averted his gaze, one of his hands involuntarily going up to his bandaged neck. His brows drew together in a thoughtful frown while his lips pursed.

"…That's how I ended up here?"

It didn't seem like a question to Kaito, so he didn't say anything in response.

Another minute of silence passed before Zero continued, not really asking but just voicing his assumptions.

"And that's why Ichiru wasn't here with me. That's why he hasn't visited. He can't."

Kaito's fingers curled involuntarily, his shoulders stiffened ever so slightly. That was the only indication of his nervous tension, however, as apart from that his impassive demeanor hadn't changed.

Zero paused to swallow a lump in his throat, he clenched the comforter in his fist tighter. His reluctance to speak further was painfully obvious.

"…Because they have him. They found out, so they took him."

"You don't seem overly surprised."

"I've had enough time to think and come up with a few theories. And in spite of Cross's best efforts to keep me in the dark, he only did the opposite by avoiding the subject in such a deliberate manner and being so obvious in his reactions."

Kaito snorted. Sure enough, he could easily imagine what Zero was talking about. Leave it to the idiot Chairman to reveal everything without actually saying anything. He just couldn't go into his perfect deadly hunter mode and lie through his teeth without batting an eye when it came to his kids, could he?

Zero continued after a short pause, his voice quieter now. "Just like you said earlier, I'm not an idiot. So I did do the math."

"Then why ask?"

"To confirm my suspicions."

"…Well then, if you're so great at reading the situation, I suppose you already know who was the one that told the President what _really_ happened instead of trying to cover Ichiru's sorry ass again?"

Zero's fingers clenched again, his knuckles whitening. The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

After some while, however, Zero's form relaxed and he let out a long sigh and then gave a slight nod. Still not looking at Kaito, he replied in an even quieter voice, "I do."

Sharply, Kaito took a deep breath, his entire form now impossibly rigid.

Silence fell between the two anew, seeming much longer and heavier this time.

Then, as discreetly as he could, Kaito breathed out and tried to force the tension in his body to ease again. He seemed to have succeeded to an extent, as his voice didn't betray even the slightest bit of uneasiness that he was currently experiencing when he spoke next.

"And yet you're still willing to be in the same room with me?"

"…I know you didn't do it out of spite."

Kaito relaxed somewhat. It was only now that he noticed how stiff the muscles in his body had gotten at some point.

"And I think you started regretting it the second you did it." Kaito's brow twitched in annoyance. He couldn't help feeling a vague sense of déjà vu at Zero's words. Honestly, what was it with these twins' natural talent for grating on his nerves without even exerting so much as minimal effort…?

"I'm sure you still do, which is good. It should serve as a fitting punishment for you, at least for now." Zero continued in a calm, almost lifeless manner that Kaito could only deem disturbing. Then, at long last, amethyst eyes turned to him, rightfully accusing but still familiar. Kaito couldn't help finding some relief in that. Zero continued, "But I'll still kick _your_ sorry ass for what you did the first chance I get."

Kaito snorted almost bitterly, a small wry smile coming to his face. "Then get better soon and give it your best shot." He turned around to leave, throwing over his shoulder, "You know I won't go down easily."

Zero watched Kaito leave, following the man's retreating back with his gaze that he let linger on the closed door for a bit before turning it to the view outside the window with a sigh.

**-o-**

"You seem anxious." Ichijou observed.

Kaname's hand halted in its motion of turning a page of a book he was reading. The pause didn't last for longer than a second, but Ichijou still took note of it. Meanwhile the pureblood responded to his comment. "Do I?"

Ichijou suppressed a small chuckle and only gave his friend a knowing smile. Kaname hadn't looked up at the other once since he had entered, but he could almost feel that smile directed at him. "Yes, you most certainly do." Ichijou said with a nod. "In a good way though."

It was only then that Kaname lifted his eyes and gave the noble his full attention, a small frown creasing his forehead. "Is that even possible?"

Ichijou gave a light laugh before replying. "Of course it is!"

Kaname blinked, his frown deepening a bit as he voiced an observation of his own. "You seem to be in awfully good spirits today, Takuma."

"Well, that's because I am." How could he not be? Everything was _finally_ getting back to normal – all because _Kaname_ was finally starting to get back to his normal, steady and calm self, which simply couldn't _not_ affect Ichijou – and not just him – in the most positive of ways.

"Is there any particular reason for it?" Kaname asked next.

 _'Well, for starters, it's finally safe to breathe, speak, move and function in general,'_ was what Ichijou thought but wisely kept to himself, answering instead, "No, nothing in particular."

That only made Kaname's frown deepen further in concerned puzzlement. Sure, it was normal for Ichijou to be… _extravagantly_ – especially so for a vampire – happy and express it openly, but not to _this_ extent. It was just too much. Everything in his demeanor simply _screamed_ of his more than just good mood so loudly it was bordering on disturbing and made Kaname feel a bit uncomfortable. It mostly pertained to the noble's smile. _That_ was disturbing – not just on the verge of becoming so, but actually disturbing.

Kaname couldn't help wondering vaguely whether it was even possible to smile _that_ widely. Which was a pointless thought, really, since Ichijou was living proof that, yes, it _was_ indeed possible. But wasn't it _painful_? Even a little? The noble didn't look like it was, but _still_ …

Kaname knew for sure it would be painful for him. He could feel his facial muscles starting to ache just looking at Ichijou and his _disturbingly_ broad and happy smile. It was actually kind of scary, just a little, now that he thought about it.

"But that aside," Ichijou spoke next, blissfully oblivious to his friend's concerned – not to mention strange and absolutely random – musings that he successfully pulled him out of with his next question. "When is Zero-kun returning? Headmaster Cross said he was almost good to go the last time I spoke to him." Which was quite a while ago, so Ichijou imagined Zero should be able to come back soon. Which was a good thing. No, a _great_ thing – not only for his dear friend and leader, but for all of them as well. They did depend on Kaname's good frame of mind very much, after all.

"Oh." Kaname's frown disappeared and was forgotten about in less than a second. "He should be home in two days." The pureblood said as he returned his gaze to the book in his lap, not really seeing it, lost in thought once again. A small smile made its way on his face, his features softening noticeably – most likely without his awareness.

 _'Oh,'_ Ichijou thought to himself, his amusement deepening, _'so_ that's _why…'_ He hid a soft chuckle behind his hand.

Garnet eyes blinked, clearing a bit as they returned their attention to Ichijou. Kaname frowned slightly. He could swear he had heard…

"Is there something wrong, Kaname?" Ichijou asked merrily with that unchanging _painfully_ wide and radiant smile and a tilt of his head.

Kaname thought he could feel his facial muscles begin to ache a bit again.

"No…No, it's nothing." The pureblood replied, averting his gaze to his book once more, this time to actually resume his reading.

"I see," Ichijou said just as happily before turning to leave. "Well, I'm off then. Are these all documents you need to have delivered?" He asked, referring to a thick bundle of papers he was holding to his chest.

"Yes," Kaname replied with a nod without shifting his attention from his book.

"Alright," the noble replied before automatically giving his pureblood leader a respectful bow and starting towards the door. Before he could open it, however, Kaname's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, and Takuma…"

"Hm?" Ichijou looked over his shoulder before half turning to face the pureblood.

"Please check on Ichiru-kun when you are done with your current task." Kaname instructed, still not looking up at the blond. "And let me know if there has been any change in his condition or any progress in Aidou's research."

Ichijou's smile turned sympathetically knowing. He gave a nod. "Of course." He answered before opening the door and leaving Kaname's study.

**-o-**

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own, Zero-kun?" Cross asked as he watched Zero undo the seat belt a few moments after their car pulled to a stop at the Cross Academy main gates. His hand automatically went to the keys to switch off the engine. "As I thought, I'll-"

"It's okay, Chairman." Zero interrupted him before he could finish, his hand already on the door handle. "I _will be_ fine on my own. So stop worrying and get back to the Association."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. It's _okay_ , really."

" _But_ -"

"It's a two-minute walk from here," Zero reasoned more sternly. He heaved a sigh before continuing, "Geez, Chairman, what am I, five?"

"It's not about the age…" Cross replied sulkily with a childish pout. "And call me 'daddy'!" He added in an annoying whiny voice. Now _that_ was the Chairman Cross Zero knew.

"Anyway," Zero started again with a sigh, easily ignoring the older hunter's usual antics. He pulled the handle and pushed the door open. "I'll be perfectly fine on my own without your annoying mother hen self around." The pout grew stronger, now supported by a quivering lower lip and teary puppy eyes. "So go to the Association and do your thing there." After getting out of the car, Zero bent down to meet Cross's gaze once again as he added, "And if you don't drive off within the next ten seconds, you won't get any dinner. And sweets too." Without waiting to hear the older man's protests, the teen straightened up and pushed the door shut before walking off and through the main gates.

He didn't need to stay there to know that his little threat would be heeded.

And sure enough, it _was_.

Zero took a deep breath, then slowly released it as he walked the familiar path to his home. It seemed like forever since he had been at the academy grounds – which it probably was, so he guessed it was fairly natural to feel a bit weird coming back. Weird in a good way though. He had missed the place, even if it was only now that he fully realized it.

The walk home was short, as expected. Zero hadn't even noticed when he had gotten to the door, and he was already pushing it open by the time full awareness of his surroundings started to come to him. Entering the house, he took a look around, his hand automatically pushing the door closed behind him, when all of a sudden…

It all happened in a flash, catching him completely off guard. He didn't even get what was happening at first, and panic already started to make its way into his rightfully confused mind when familiar scent hit him, soon followed by realization. Zero's form automatically relaxed as he unconsciously let out a breath of relief, his hands went up to settle on the back of the form pressed to his of their own accord.

It was Kaname, holding him. He had appeared out of nowhere and pulled him into a hug so suddenly Zero's mind had trouble catching up. It was his body that reacted first, reciprocating the hug without Zero's full awareness of what he was doing. Not that it mattered, as the silver-haired teen didn't pull away even after realizing what was going on.

Zero clutched the fabric of Kaname's jacket, and Kaname tightened his hold a bit with a deep sigh.

The two stayed that way for some while, serene stillness descending over them.

"…I'm sorry," Zero broke the silence after some time, his voice slightly muffled by Kaname's shoulder his face was pressed into.

There was no reply. Zero's fingers gripped Kaname's jacket a little tighter.

"I'm sorry, Kaname," the teen repeated. "I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, unable to finish.

It wasn't until another while that the pureblood finally replied.

"…You never do." He said with another sigh before loosening his hold and retreating a bit to finally take a look at Zero's face for the first time in what seemed like ages, his hands resting on the teen's shoulders now. "Yet you never stop to think and consider the consequences before you act, do you…?"

Amethyst eyes widened. Unable to hold Kaname's gaze, Zero looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry," he said once again.

There was another sigh. Kaname didn't offer any reply and only continued to regard Zero wordlessly. He could tell that the teen _was_ genuinely sorry, that he did feel guilty for what had happened – and Kaname's previous words had done nothing to change it.

But that was fine. That was what Kaname wanted. Zero had to realize, to learn the lesson at long last, and _this_ seemed to be the only way.

"Then you won't let it happen again," the pureblood finally answered.

Zero could only give a small, meek nod after a moment's hesitation. But that wasn't good enough for Kaname.

He cupped Zero's cheeks and forced the teen to look up at him. "Say it out loud, Zero-kun. Promise me you won't let it happen again."

"I…" Zero couldn't help but falter, suddenly uncertain under Kaname's intense gaze. "…I promise," he finished through a lump in his throat.

Kaname continued to regard the teen steadily for another while. Then he let out a soft sigh and gave a brief nod. "Good," he replied softly, his form relaxing as he unconsciously stroked Zero's cheeks with his thumbs before letting go and drawing the silver-haired teen into an embrace once more.

Lowering his head to bury his nose into Kaname's shoulder, Zero reciprocated the hug this time around as well.

The two stayed that way for some while, never noticing another presence not so far from them, its owner watching them attentively with narrowed, teary brown eyes filled with bitter hurt.

**-o-**

"He is in the Moon Dorms?" Zero paused in making Kaname's favorite caramel tea as he asked that question, wide-eyed.

Kaname responded with a wordless nod. It took a few moments for the information to register properly, and by the time that happened, Zero had already made his way to the kitchen table the pureblood was seated at, placed two cups of hot tea on it and took a seat next to Kaname. "Why?"

"Because the Association wouldn't have let us take him here otherwise. So Cross made a deal, which has led us to our current arrangement."

"A deal…?" Zero blinked, his brows furrowing for a moment. "What…" he trailed off, choosing not to inquire about the details of that deal right now in favor of concentrating on what was more important.

"I want to see him." Zero said next instead.

A deep sigh came from Kaname. Sure enough, he had been expecting those words. "Zero-kun…"

"Please, Kaname," Zero implored before Kaname could voice what he knew from the pureblood's tone would have been a protest, "I need to see him."

Kaname pressed his lips together. Turning his head to give Zero his full attention, he regarded the teen thoughtfully, not missing how stiff he was, how nervous, how…desperate…he looked.

Another sigh came after a long moment of silence.

"Alright," Kaname yielded.

Zero's tense shoulders relaxed, a happy smile coming to his lips as pure relief washed over his face. A barely audible _'Thank you'_ followed, and Kaname couldn't help giving a small smile of his own, albeit of slight uneasiness, as he nodded in wordless response.

The pureblood kept his word, for as soon as they finished their tea, he took Zero to the Moon Dormitory to let the teen see his twin – reluctant as he was to do it. The walk was relatively short and spent in companionable silence, and all too soon for Kaname, they reached their destination and his hand was on the handle of the door leading to Ichiru's temporary room. Now tense, the pureblood pushed the door open and entered before half turning to Zero, watching the teen silently.

Zero froze in the doorway, unable to do anything but stare at Ichiru's unconscious form. Then, after what seemed like a very long while, his natural instincts kicked in and he started towards the bed his twin was occupying, having come out of his daze. He didn't get farther than one step, however, as Kaname blocked his way almost immediately.

Zero looked up at the pureblood, a small frown of confusion coming to his features. "Kaname…?"

There was no response.

Zero's frown deepened. His gaze returned to Ichiru and he tried to step sideways in another attempt to get to his twin, but Kaname stopped him once again, this time by placing his hand on the wall near Zero. After an unconscious glance at the arm blocking his way, Zero fixed his full attention on the pureblood anew, their eyes locking. Realizing that he wouldn't be going anywhere without Kaname's permission, Zero stayed still and didn't try to get past the other anymore.

After what seemed like a very long while, Kaname finally spoke.

"If you want to take another step towards him, you will have to agree to follow some rules, Zero-kun."

Involuntarily, Zero tensed. The words spoken by that familiar yet suddenly somewhat foreign voice sent chills down his spine for some reason. He didn't reply, waiting for Kaname to continue. Which the pureblood did soon enough.

"First, you are not to enter this room without me or someone from my inner circle around."

Zero blinked, his amethyst eyes widening slightly. Another frown marring his features, the silver-haired teen opened his mouth to voice his protest when Kaname continued without any regard for the other's opinion.

"Second, you are not to give Ichiru-kun blood or do anything of the sort. If you so much as even try to do it, I will have you banned from this building, so you won't be able to pass through the gates, let alone through this door." Burgundy eyes narrowed, hardening. Zero pursed his lips, doing his best to suppress the urge to avert his gaze. His fingers curled.

"Third and last, you are not to try to get around any of my rules, whether on your own or with somebody's help. If you do, I won't let you anywhere near Ichiru-kun for as long as I deem necessary. Needless to say, I will also make the one stupid enough to try and help you defy my rules regret their foolishness greatly."

Once again, chills racked Zero's form, his fingers curled further. He bit the inner side of his lower lip.

He wanted to protest, wanted to try and get Kaname to realize how unreasonable those 'rules' of his were, but the pureblood's unusually cold, uncompromising gaze left no room for so much as mere attempts at defiance.

"Is that understood?" Kaname asked next.

Zero didn't respond verbally – he couldn't. All he _could_ manage was a slight nod of his head after a moment of stupefied hesitation.

Garnet eyes softened noticeably. Involuntarily, Zero relaxed, a silent breath of relief escaping him without his knowledge.

"…Good." Kaname said with a small nod, finally returning to his usual self. Slowly, he stepped aside and gave Zero permission to enter the room further with a gesture of his hand. Hesitant at first, Zero took a few uncertain steps before lengthening his strides towards the bed Ichiru was lying in. Reaching it, he looked over his twin's unconscious form, relieved to find no injuries there – no external ones, at the very least.

Releasing a breath he had been unknowingly holding, Zero carefully lowered himself onto the edge of the bed and extended his hand to touch Ichiru's face and brush a few stray silver locks away from his closed eyes before also feeling his forehead, relieved to find that his twin's body temperature was normal. He still hadn't gotten out of that habit, even though fever had long become an extremely rare occurrence for Ichiru.

"According to Aidou, there is nothing wrong with him…" Kaname's voice sounded from behind. Zero hadn't even noticed when the pureblood had approached. "He still has to run a few more tests to get all the additional information that he needs, but his preliminary conclusion is that Ichiru-kun is in good health. Physically, that is."

Zero frowned. He looked up at Kaname over his shoulder. "What do you mean 'physically'? Is there something wrong with him mentally?"

Kaname didn't miss the slight widening of Zero's eyes, as well as growing alarm in them. So he chose his next words carefully. "We have no reason to think so, and there is no way to tell while Ichiru-kun remains unconscious. So right now it is mere speculation. We will know more when Ichiru-kun wakes up." Zero still wasn't fully convinced, Kaname could see it. So he added with a soft smile that he hoped came out as reassuring as he meant for it to be, "There is nothing to worry about, Zero-kun. We both know Ichiru-kun is not at risk of falling to madness, so everything is going to be alright, I am sure of it."

Zero relaxed noticeably, a small sigh escaping him as he shifted his gaze back to Ichiru and gave an absent nod. His hand automatically went to his twin's, his fingers wrapping around it carefully before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Can I…" Zero spoke after some while of silence. "Can I stay here for a bit longer…?" He asked, knowing full well that staying the night was out of the question. Kaname had made it perfectly clear not so long ago.

"…Of course." Kaname replied quietly. "However long you like, Zero-kun."

A small grateful smile graced Zero's lips as he gave a soft _'Thank you'_ in response.

**-o-**

_Everything was red. Again._

_The walls, the couch, the floor, the ceiling, the windows…even the armchair she was seated in. It was all red with blood that she knew wasn't actually there._

_It wasn't the first time she was having this kind of hallucinations. It had started quite a while ago, on and off every now and again._

_At first she had been terrified, unable to do anything but scream and cry and screw her burning with tears eyes shut, pulling at her hair painfully in hopes of waking up, desperately praying that it was just another one of her nightmares that had by then become rather common to her. Alas, that hadn't been the case and the awakening hadn't come. To her greatest relief, however, the hallucinations themselves had stopped soon enough after lasting for no more than a few seconds._

_Then the incident had repeated. Then again. And again, soon becoming another common occurrence to her. And every time those hallucinations had lasted a little bit longer than the previous ones, escalating, growing more vivid, gruesome and seeming all the more_ real _each time._

 _Strangely – and disturbingly – enough, however… Instead of finding the experience more and more terrifying and repulsive after every occurrence, she had actually grown somewhat…_ fascinated _by it._

_So by now it wasn't scary anymore. Nor was it disturbing or traumatic like it used to be. All that blood that she was currently seeing… It was so…_

Beautiful… _Soothing, even. She actually enjoyed watching it so closely and having it all to herself, enjoyed feeling it on her skin – even if it_ was _a mere illusion – and being surrounded by it. It felt so…nice and safe…_

_And the fact that such thoughts were more than just disturbing in and of themselves had long stopped bothering her._

_'Ah,'_ Yuuki thought absently to herself, tilting her head slightly to the side as she traced one particular rivulet of blood slowly running down the wall across from her. _'So pretty…'_

"Yuuki?" Came a familiar voice, partially pulling the girl out of her daze.

Blinking, Yuuki turned her head to the side. "Zero…?" She said absently, still a bit out of it.

 _'Ah…That pretty red looks nice on Zero too…'_ Was the thought that passed through Yuuki's mind fleetingly before something clicked and she finally woke up from her trance with another blink of her eyes.

Brown orbs widened.

"Zero!" Yuuki exclaimed happily as she jumped out of the armchair and ran to her adoptive brother to give him a tight hug. "You're back," she added, her voice muffled, "you're okay…"

Yuuki felt Zero's chest rumble slightly as he let out a hearty chuckle. "I am," he replied, returning the hug and ruffling her hair affectionately. "Sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay," came the girl's muffled reply. "I'm glad you're well again." She let go and stepped back, looking up at the silver-haired teen with a sweet smile.

_Ah, there it was again…_

Yuuki blinked.

_That wonderful red was back…_

Zero was saying something in response, but it didn't quite register, as all Yuuki could concentrate on right now was all that beautiful blood trickling down his smooth, alabaster skin.

_It looked so good, suited him so well…_

Still, somehow, she managed to offer something in reply, even though she had no idea what it was. But judging by Zero's expression, she hadn't said anything weird, so she guessed it was okay. Zero continued talking then, but once again, Yuuki failed to pay attention, too distracted by a few thick, rich dark-red rivulets slowly traveling down the side of Zero's face, some going lower onto his bandaged neck and some dripping from his chin and hair.

Yuuki tilted her head slightly to the side with another blink.

_She could see some of them again, too… Those thin threads underneath Zero's suddenly translucent skin. Pulsating and alive, intertwined so beautifully… She couldn't help wondering-_

"…-ki?" Zero's familiar voice sounded in her head. "Yuuki?"

Yuuki blinked, her eyes widening as she came out of her daze once again, this time completely. All red disappeared and everything was back to normal. She took a brief look around, still slightly lost.

"Yuuki, what is it?"

Looking up at the question, Yuuki was met with Zero's concerned expression. She blinked up at her adoptive brother stupidly, then tilted her head to the side with a question of her own. "What do you mean?"

Zero's small frown of concern deepened briefly. "You spaced out," he explained. "Is everything okay?"

Yuuki's lips formed a small soundless _'Oh'_ , her eyes widened in understanding. "…Yeah," she answered after a pause with a slow absent-minded nod. "I just got a bit lost in thought is all." Her usual big smile spread over her face, and she hoped it would be enough to reassure Zero.

Lavender eyes regarded Yuuki steadily.

Yuuki forced a wider smile, suppressing the urge to avert her gaze from Zero's.

A few excruciatingly long moments later there was a sigh. Zero's expression cleared at long last and a small smile pulled the corners of his lips upwards anew. "Okay then," he said with a slight nod, letting go of the subject.

Yuuki only smiled wider, this time genuinely, secretly relieved.

**-o-**

_It got quiet._

Aidou froze, wide-eyed, his hand stopping above the paper he had been writing on, rigid fingers tightening around the pen he was holding. Stiffly, he turned around to look at the only other occupant of the room.

 _It got_ too _quiet. Eerily so._

Aidou strained his ears, sincerely hoping that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. Alas, that didn't seem to be the case.

Panic started setting in. Still rigid and now barely breathing, the noble took a few cautious steps forward.

_Still nothing._

He got closer. And closer. _And_ closer, until he was standing not a step away from the bed the younger Kiryuu twin was occupying. He stood there, stiff and motionless, concentrating all of his senses on one simple task of _perceiving_ what he knew _had to_ be there.

…Yet there was nothing. Try hard as he might, he couldn't hear the slightest sound, couldn't see the slightest motion, couldn't find _any_ signs of _life_.

_No breathing._

_No pulse._

_No…nothing. Only silence. Dead, cold silence. And Ichiru, looking frozen and lifeless._

Aidou had long stopped breathing by then, seized by pure panic, his mind racing and heart pounding violently against his constricted chest.

 _'W-what-, how-'_ Aidou struggled to gather his thoughts and form a question in his head. _'Why on earth-'_

The next second everything stopped and all life left the room once more.

Turquoise eyes widened further with a shocked blink. He thought he had-

 _It came back, that sound. Then again after a few moments. And again, getting stronger and steadier each time. Ichiru's heart_ was _beating and his lungs_ were _working just fine, too._

Aidou let out a deep breath, some tension slowly seeping away from his body. It _was_ there, he wasn't imagining things. And looking at Ichiru now… He couldn't help wondering whether his senses had been playing tricks on him earlier, as the ex-human in front of him was _far_ from being lifeless.

A deep frown marred the noble's features. What the hell _was_ going on here…?

Aidou didn't get to ponder on that question, however, as not a split second later Ichiru's pulse in his ears unexpectedly skyrocketed to an alarming rate. Then, all of a sudden, the hunter's eyes shot wide open, blazing with deep, vivid crimson, his now clawed fingers tore into the sheets and his chest heaved as he took in big gasps of apparently much-needed air.

He was awake.


	28. Red Mist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** Hello again, dearests! So sorry for yet another long absence *bows low* This chapter has actually been pretty much ready and waiting for the last few finishing touches for **quite** some while, but I just couldn't find neither time nor motivation to sit down and get it done and over with *sighs*_
> 
> _On a side note, I finally moved and returned to my hometown since I was by some miracle offered a new job there- err, I mean here xD The moving was troublesome, naturally, and it took me a few months to fully settle in. Those few months were the hardest ever and I was pretty depressed and wanted to just drop it all and start over again, but thankfully, that period somehow came to an end and everything turned out alright, so now I'm happy again._
> 
> _Anyway, here is the new chapter. Thank you all for still being with me and for all your kudos, bookmarks and most of all, for your wonderful comments! They always make my day/night/evening/morning without fail! *_*_
> 
> _As always, disclaimer, warnings and everything else remain the same. All mistakes are mine._
> 
> _Please enjoy! :D_

* * *

 

_Pink eyes snapped open, uncharacteristically wide with shock, a hint of concern flashing in them for a brief moment._

_Shizuka remained still in her favorite resting place beneath her ever blooming cherry blossom tree for a long minute as she tried to comprehend the meaning behind the feeling that had disturbed her peace._

_She knew what it was, she had experienced it before – the very memory of it was painful still, it made her chest tighten with unending grief she could never quite make herself forget. So she had learned to live with it, which in turn dulled the constant ache a bit and made it as bearable as it could get._

_It wasn't the same this time around, it didn't fill her with paralyzing dread, unbearable agony and cold cruel emptiness. But it made her relive that terrible experience, albeit only briefly, and even that was enough to shake her to the core._

_Shizuka released a shuddering breath and blinked her eyes as she recovered, only then registering a hot trail of wetness down the sides of her perfectly sculpted face. She rose into a sitting position, staring ahead of her unseeingly without bothering to wipe the evidence of her unrestrained sadness born of an unexpected moment of dangerous weakness._

_Previously serene, pleasant silence around her turned cold and heavy all of a sudden. Everything stilled, lifeless and suffocating, until…_

" _Shizuka-sama," a familiar voice called her name in its usual hesitant yet caring – and now also worried – manner. It pulled her back into reality, making the scenery around her come into motion anew._

_Shizuka let out a long breath, tension leaving her shoulders, but her heart was still beating a bit too fast and too palpably against her ribcage._

" _Shizuka-sama, forgive me for disturbing you, but…is everything alright?"_

_Slowly, Shizuka turned her still slightly dazed eyes to the girl inside the house. She stood at the door, not daring to cross its threshold and invade Shizuka's sacred garden even if she wanted to. Her body language was a dead giveaway of her nervous worry and subsequent instinctual desire to appease her higher-ranking relative. Although Shizuka had no doubt that it was mostly the girl's gentle nature that compelled her to feel that way._

" _Maria, dear child, come…" Shizuka requested as she stretched out her hand. The girl complied, running up to her almost soundlessly. When Maria's small hands were in her gentle grasp, the pureblood woman continued, "I need you to do something for me."_

_Maria straightened, feeling a slight sense of urgency as she looked into her relative's eyes, not missing the restrained worry in them. Her answer was immediate. "Anything, Shizuka-sama."_

_A small smile graced Shizuka's lips. Giving the younger girl's hands a light squeeze, the pureblood spoke, "Summon your familiar, my dear. I need to check if my boys are alright."_

_Maria did as she was told without voicing her curiosity and tapped into her powers that she had never deemed very useful in practical sense of the word until only a year or so ago. Through the watchful eyes of her familiar, she granted Shizuka's request and then calmed the pureblood down by informing her that the two hunters she seemed to be so fond of were neither hurt nor in danger._

_Shizuka's form visibly relaxed, worry leaving her eyes only to be replaced by thoughtful confusion not long after._

_Maria tilted her head to the side as she saw a frown mar Shizuka's features. "Is there something bothering you, Shizuka-sama?"_

_There was a long while of silence. It made Maria wonder whether the pureblood had even heard her, but she didn't try to find out._

_"…It broke." Shizuka spoke softly at long last, a quiet sigh leaving her lips. "I can't feel it anymore."_

_Maria frowned, rightfully confused. "What can't you feel?"_

_"…The bond." Pink eyes cleared as Shizuka finally looked up to meet Maria's gaze. "The sire bond I had with that child… It's gone."_

**-o-**

Ichijou felt uncomfortable just standing by the door observing the sight before him. It was disconcerting to see Ichiru the way he was now; so still and completely unresponsive – nothing but a shadow of his usual self.

But it wasn't just that. There was also something about the air around him, _something_ about the aura emanating from his body that made Ichijou extremely reluctant to get any closer. There just seemed to be…something inexplicably dangerous and menacing about that invisible energy creeping out through his pores and slowly spreading around him. Seemingly faint and calm, yet somewhat unsettling.

Ichijou shifted his feet uncomfortably, suppressing a frustrated sigh. He _really_ wanted to leave.

"Let me confirm something, Aidou…" Kaname's smooth voice interrupted Ichijou's thoughts, making the blond realize with a start that he had been spacing out and thus had missed every bit of Aidou's report to their pureblood leader. "What you are saying is…No real progress has been made because _Ichiru-kun_ didn't let you get close enough to actually do something…is that correct?"

Aidou nodded stiffly before adding, "Yes, Kaname-sama."

Kaname stayed silent for a long moment as he regarded Aidou impassively. The younger blond didn't lift his eyes from the floor.

"Aidou…" Kaname started, and the said noble stiffened further. "Please, do enlighten me, how exactly _did_ Ichiru-kun manage to do that, considering…" the pureblood paused, his gaze flickering to Ichiru for a moment before returning to Aidou, "…his current condition?"

Aidou pressed his lips together, his face creased into a concentrated frown. "I don't know. I can only surmise that it's some kind of self-defense mechanism that he activated at some point, whether consciously or not."

Kaname let out a heavy sigh, his fingers itching to massage his temples that were beginning to throb with a slowly developing headache. It was so like Ichiru to be frustratingly uncooperative and oppose him every step of the way just to spite him – even when he wasn't in a state of full awareness of his surroundings.

There was an awkward laugh from Ichijou before the noble spoke, "Well, I guess it's only natural. He _is_ a hunter in a place full of high-level vampires, after all."

"That may be the case," Aidou responded after a brief contemplative pause, finally looking up, "but the way he defends himself is not normal. Not that my knowledge on them is particularly vast, but I'm pretty sure that kind of attack is not something a hunter is supposed to be able to do. Let alone a _Level D_." He finished, not bothering to hide his distaste at Ichiru's official status in their society.

Ichijou perked up at that, curious. "What do you mean?"

Aidou let out a small sigh. "Watch this," he said, turning around and slowly starting towards the bed Ichiru was occupying, each step he took seeming to get more and more cautious the closer he got.

Both Kaname and Ichijou frowned simultaneously as they observed the scene before them.

Then, all of a sudden, the temperature in the room dropped and everything went still.

The three vampires tensed – Aidou more so than the other two since he knew all too well what was coming next.

Three pairs of eyes widened when Ichiru's aura suddenly flared and lashed out angrily, attacking Aidou and sending him flying across the room and into the wall.

Aidou groaned as he pushed himself slightly up after his hard landing on the floor, an uncharacteristic curse slipping past his lips the next second. His hand went up to cradle his head, his eyes squeezed shut and face twisted in a grimace of pain.

Cruel as that may be of them, under normal circumstances Kaname and Ichijou – as well as any other Night Class member – would have definitely laughed at poor Aidou and his unchangingly ill luck. It was just _that_ amusing to see the blond thrown around the room a bit.

However, what had just happened was sure as hell _not normal_ and there was nothing funny about it.

Kaname tensed further and instinctively released some of his own aura as a hostile warning, prepared – and almost itching, thoroughly baited by the threat – to fight any second. Beside him, Ichijou stood motionless and impossibly rigid, violent shivers of potent fear running down his spine as he stared at Ichiru unblinkingly, wide-eyed.

Ichiru remained still as he had been this entire time, never making a single move, not looking up at them even once, pretty much dead to the world around him, save for the previous display of unexpected – _unnatural, wrong in every sense_ – power. Although the three guessed it had been an unconscious response on the ex-human's part.

There was another lash of Ichiru's aura, this one harsher and more concentrated, directed mostly at Kaname – more than likely in retaliation for the pureblood's own silently issued threat. It danced around Kaname's slowly spreading aura, as though testing it – if not _taunting_ it, as Ichijou certainly wouldn't put that past the younger Kiryuu twin even in his current state.

A growl started rising from within Kaname's throat, his long fingers flexed slowly.

The air in the room went completely still, the time seemed to freeze.

" _K-Kaname-sama_ …" Ichijou rasped out breathlessly, only now realizing how suffocated he felt.

Then, just like that, it suddenly stopped. Ichiru's aura retreated and quieted down, disappearing altogether as though it had never been there in the first place. Soon enough Kaname followed suit, although his form remained tense and ready to attack.

A long minute of heavy silence passed.

"Aidou…" Kaname started, never taking his narrowed in cautious suspicion eyes off Ichiru, "explain. _In_ _detail_."

**-o-**

Zero hadn't been prepared for the onslaught of attention he had been forced to face on his first day of school after a long involuntary break. He had barely made it to his seat when his classmates surrounded him and started bombarding him with all sorts of questions concerning his absence and well-being, expressing their worry and relief at having him back and then also inquiring about Ichiru and his whereabouts and state of health.

Completely taken aback, Zero didn't even know where and how to start answering all the questions, his thoughts too erratic to actually form a full sentence.

Fortunately for him, however, he was soon put out of his misery when the classroom door slid open and then closed, followed by a loud bang made by a heavy book colliding with a wooden desk, effectively enforcing silence and attracting everyone's attention.

"Take your seats. The class is starting."

Lavender eyes widened at the sound of a painfully familiar voice, immediately shifting to land on the no less familiar form of its owner.

Quiet murmurs filled the classroom as everyone – especially the girls – started whispering among themselves, wondering about the newcomer. Subdued – at least for now – curiosity and excitement were clear in their demeanor.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day," the said newcomer urged and in a few moments everyone settled in their places. "Now, I suppose an introduction is due…" he continued, turning around to pick up a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard with it. "Nice to meet you all, my name is Takamiya Kaito," he underlined his name, then put the chalk back into its place and turned around to face the class anew. "I will be teaching this class from now on."

Zero's eyes widened further as Kaito's hard gaze fixated on him. "Behave yourselves and we'll get along just fine."

It was a day full of surprises indeed.

**-o-**

It was only in the evening as Zero was heading to the class changeover that he got to talk with Kaito. The man was waiting for him leaning against one of the trees along the path leading to the Moon Dorms. Zero halted in his steps for a moment, then put his hands in his pockets and resumed walking with a quiet sigh.

"Didn't think you would be able to escape your little fanclub anytime soon," Zero said a few moments after Kaito had fallen into step beside him. "Must have been a tough first day, huh?"

Kaito gave a snort. "It sure as hell was. Man, those girls are exhausting to deal with. Never thought I'd prefer the company of Level Es to that of humans."

Zero couldn't help letting out a snort of his own at that.

"Not that I don't see where they're coming from," Kaito continued with a dramatic sigh, now smugly. "It's not often that they get to see someone as handsome as I am."

Zero rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever pleases your enormous ego," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Don't take it too seriously though. Those girls have at least a dozen more idols to drool over, so get used to the thought of sharing your new-found admirers."

Another snort. "Are you and Ichiru also included in that group of so-called 'idols'?"

"Hell no," Zero denied right away, scowling. "Ichiru – maybe. But I made damn sure not to get into their stupid list of targets."

"Oh?" Kaito arched an eyebrow as he gave Zero a curious sideways look. "And how exactly did you do that?"

"Simple," Zero shrugged, "I chose the strategy of fear, scaring the hell out of them with my glares so that they would be too terrified to actually get close."

This time Kaito chuckled, genuinely amused. "And Ichiru?"

"He has his own way of handling them."

"Let me guess, he sweet-talks them."

"Pretty much."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kaito asked rhetorically with another snort.

"You know us too well for your own good," Zero replied absent-mindedly, now only half-focused on their conversation with the older hunter as he looked ahead, grimacing at the sight of the unpleasantly familiar massive crowd of girls at the Moon Dorms gates. That was certainly one thing he hadn't missed the slightest bit.

_He got too_ close _to them for his own good was more like it._ Kaito knew that for a fact, as much as he loathed to admit it even to himself. He let out a heavy sigh.

The rest of their short walk was spent in silence, until Kaito's moment of contemplation was interrupted as his undivided attention was captured by a horde of hormone-crazed teenage girls he had somehow managed not to notice this whole time.

Well, that was official now. He wasn't just getting soft, he was also getting rusty.

Kaito groaned, stopping. "I suddenly feel even less inclined to go there than before."

"Then don't," Zero replied with a light shrug, coming to a stop as well before turning to the older hunter with a small frown. " _Why_ are you even here anyway?"

"To help you out, obviously."

"To spy on us, even going so far as to pretend to be a teacher. Do you even have a license or whatever you need to actually teach?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Was forced to get one a while back. Never thought that shit would actually come in handy one day though." Kaito let out a derisive snort before adding to correct Zero, " _And_ I'm not here to _spy_ , but to keep an eye on you two idiots."

A silver eyebrow rose skeptically. "Is there a difference?"

"There is in my book."

Zero snorted. "Yeah, you're free to believe whatever you want if it makes you feel any better about it."

There was a long-suffering sigh. "Zero…"

"What exactlydo you think we're going to do with Ichiru in that state? No, what does _the Association_ expect us to do?" The question was followed by a long silence. "…It's not like we have anywhere to run off to anyway." Zero finished as he turned around and resumed his way towards the Moon Dorms.

Kaito watched the younger hunter's retreating back in silence for a few long seconds. Then, breathing another weary sigh, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and proceeded in the direction of the noisy – _unbearably_ so – crowd.

**-o-**

"So they are back home…" Rido drawled absent-mindedly as he languidly swirled the dark-red liquid in his wineglass with an effortlessly elegant movement of his hand. A slow smile spread across his handsome face, a dim spark of excitement flickering in his different-colored eyes. "All alone and vulnerable _once again_ , aren't they…? Delightful…" he lifted the glass to his face and breathed in the scent of its contents deeply, a small hum of appreciation leaving him. "How very delightful…"

"…They're not alone," Yuuki said quietly with a small frown of confusion as she watched the man a few meters across from her dazedly. "They're with everyone…with…" Her eyelids lowered a bit, cold clarity crossing her cloudy eyes for a brief moment before disappearing. _"With Kaname-sama…"_

Rido's only response was another soft hum as he took a sip of his favorite blood wine. As expected of his personal collection, the taste was divine.

Yuuki continued in the same absent manner as before, "And there's their friend…another hunter…"

Rido let out a soft contented sigh after another languid sip.

_"They're not alone…"_ the girl repeated with a puzzled frown as she tried to remember what exactly it was she had been trying to say, what she had said and what she was saying and…

_Where was she again…?_

_What was going on…?_

_Who was she talking to…?_

A chuckle reached Yuuki's ears and she slowly looked up. Her frown deepened as she blinked a few times to try and focus on the somewhat familiar by now features of the man before her.

"Of course they are," Rido replied, confusing Yuuki further as she struggled to take a grip on her currently vague reality. "More so than ever now, especially the older one." The pureblood stretched out his arm and immediately there was a servant at the back of the couch Rido was lounging on, his head bowed in reverence, a tray in his hand for his master to place his wineglass on. Which Rido did, and the man disappeared with another respectful bow the second the pureblood's fingers left the glass.

"Now," Rido got up and made his way around a coffee table and over to Yuuki. Slowly, he leaned over her, his hands settling on the armrests of the chair she was occupying. His smile turned into a wide smirk at the dazed, almost hypnotized look he was met with. His hand rose to stroke Yuuki's smooth, rosy cheek gently with the back of his long fingers. "Let us think about our next move, shall we?" Bright red started to bleed into different-colored eyes, turning them all the more hypnotic. Never averting his attention from his new sweet little toy, Rido leaned back a bit and rolled up one of his shirt sleeves. One elongated nail pressed into the flawless pale skin of his now exposed wrist. "You continue to do as I say…" He dragged his finger down, thick pure blood rising to the surface in response to the small movement. "And I will continue to grant you your _reward_."

Yuuki gave another dazed blink, her still cloudy eyes transfixed on Rido's now bleeding wrist with unhealthy fascination in them. She responded with a slight nod without ever registering her own action.

**-o-**

Strangely, there was no reaction from Ichiru when they entered. He didn't look up, didn't blink, didn't show _any_ signs of awareness of their presence whatsoever.

Zero frowned, worry already starting to creep its way into his mind. He approached the bed.

Still nothing. Ichiru only continued to stare unseeingly into space.

Now _that_ wasn't just worrying but also a little disturbing. "Ichiru," Zero called softly, almost cautiously.

Ichiru started a bit. Then there was a drowsy blink, after which Ichiru slowly looked up at him. Their identical eyes locked, but there was no sign of recognition in Ichiru's. Zero's worry started to grow, but then…

Another drowsy blink was followed by a warm, genuinely happy smile that slowly spread over Ichiru's lips as he said quietly, "Nii-san…" Almost sluggishly, Ichiru moved forward to the edge of the bed to wrap his arms around Zero's middle. "Nii-san…" he repeated, tightening his hold on Zero and burying his face in his stomach. "I'm so glad to see you… I missed you so much…" He added in a muffled voice.

Zero smiled softly, a small chuckle escaping him. It had been a while since Ichiru displayed such an…innocently childish behavior. Zero couldn't help but find it endearing. "Me too," he replied before automatically bending to kiss the top of Ichiru's head, one of his hands stroking the silver hair gently while the other rested on the nape of his twin's neck.

He drew a deep breath of Ichiru's familiar, comforting scent and shut his eyes for a moment, his shoulders rising and falling as some of the tension slowly seeped out of his form even as the uneasiness remained.

Ichiru seemed off. _Really_ off. Sure, it was great that he had woken up at least, but Zero still couldn't help worrying for his brother, somewhat doubtful about his current condition.

"How are you feeling?"

Ichiru drawled a long hum as he contemplated his own state and tried to evaluate it. Having come up with nothing too out of the ordinary, he shrugged and replied, "Fine, I guess. A bit tired though. And still sleepy." He finished with a deep sigh and closed his eyes before burying his face further in Zero's stomach, his arms tightening around his twin's waist slightly. Another sigh left his lips then, this one soft and of unmistakable content.

Zero couldn't help letting out another small chuckle at his counterpart's antics. It had been a while since he had seen Ichiru like this indeed. So…endearing in his childishness. Or so it seemed to him, at the very least. It made him feel as though they were kids again.

"I see," Zero said as he stroked Ichiru's hair gently.

It was then that Aidou decided to start asking questions as well. "Kiryuu," two pairs of identical lavender eyes turned their attention to him, so he had to elaborate, "Ichiru…"

Ichiru gave a brief nod but made no move to detach himself from Zero. Aidou chose to ignore it and voiced his first question, "What is the last thing you remember?"

Ichiru's brow creased into a frown of confusion before morphing into one of contemplation as he racked his brain. "I…" his frown deepened briefly. "I'm not sure," unconsciously, Ichiru released his hold on Zero's waist and sat back on the bed, his hand going up to cradle the side of his head as though it could help stir his memory. "I think I was…in a cell…at the Association, they…" he trailed off, the crease between his eyebrows getting more prominent. There was a short moment of silence, then Ichiru's eyes widened and he resumed speaking, "They _locked me up_." Ichiru lifted his confused gaze to his twin. "Why?"

Zero's uneasiness and hesitation to answer spoke volumes to Ichiru.

"What did I do, nii-san?" Ichiru asked next, his hand rising slowly to take a gentle hold of Zero's wrist, his eyes now imploring with apprehension and regret already starting to make their way into them. "Please, tell me."

Ichiru's brief glance at his neck told Zero that his twin already had a guess in his mind.

Zero breathed a deep sigh. He gave Ichiru what he hoped came out as a reassuring smile and petted his head gently. "Ichiru, it's okay, you didn't do anything wrong." As he was saying those words, he could feel familiar burgundy eyes drill into his back, their owner disagreeing with him for sure but choosing not to voice his thoughts – at least for now, thankfully. "It was just an accident, so wipe that look off your face."

He knew he was _so_ _in_ _for_ _the talk_ later.

Ichiru's fingers tightened around his wrist a bit. "Nii-san-"

" _Ichiru_ ," Zero's expression turned serious, "just leave it."

"But-"

"No buts, Ichiru. It doesn't matter now. So let it go. Please." Zero implored.

They both were stubborn, but they could always convince each other. Ichiru was usually the one abusing that privilege, but now was Zero's turn and he wasn't about to back down.

Which Ichiru could see, so he pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze before giving a reluctant nod. He decided he didn't really need an answer to his question. He could draw a conclusion from Zero's behavior without being filled in on the details. And besides, he was sure it wouldn't be long before someone – _Kaito_ , most probably – spilled the truth. He would just wait for the asshole to come throwing accusations at him like he _loved_ doing. _And in the meantime…_

Zero breathed a quiet sigh of relief, his tense form relaxing as he ruffled Ichiru's hair and bent down to place another kiss on the top of his twin's head.

… _He would just enjoy his other half's undivided attention._

**-o-**

"You should have told your brother everything," was the first thing Kaname said a moment after the door to his study room had been closed with a soft _'click'_. "He has to be made aware of his own actions and he has to understand their gravity."

Zero let out a quiet sigh before looking up at the pureblood who was now standing by the window with his back turned to him. "It doesn't have to be today." Or any day at all, really. Personally, Zero would rather have that matter forgotten not only by Ichiru, but by everyone. It would certainly improve their current situation by returning everything back to normal. However…

There was another sigh before Zero continued. "I'm sure Ichiru will remember on his own soon. And even if he doesn't… Kaito and other hunters will be only too glad to _enlighten_ him, trust me." He let out a barely audible, bitter chuckle at the end, the corners of his lips going up a bit to form a small, sad smile.

Kaname half-turned, garnet eyes locked with lavender ones. A few long moments of silence followed. A quiet sigh left Kaname's lips, his expression softened.

"It's not out of spite that I want Ichiru-kun to know. You understand that, don't you?"

Zero nodded, his eyes lowered. "I do," he said quietly.

"Nor do I enjoy imposing my rules on you."

Another nod. "I know."

Kaname sighed yet again, folding his arms over his chest before surmising, "But you still disagree."

It was only then that Zero looked up to meet the pureblood's gaze. "Of course I do." He easily affirmed. There wasn't a single hint of hostility in his tone though, which Kaname took as a good sign. "I don't want to leave Ichiru alone again."

"He is not alone. Aidou is there with him."

"You know what I mean, and-" Zero broke off mid-sentence, blinking in amused bewilderment before letting out a soft chuckle and continuing, "seriously, Kaname, _Aidou_?"

Kaname gave a light shrug of his shoulders. "He is perfectly capable of handling him."

This time Zero couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, I have no doubts about that." _Aidou_ handling _Ichiru…_ Yeah, right. "You really have no pity for the guy, do you?"

Another small shrug. Kaname averted his eyes, his face an almost perfect mask of calm impassiveness. _Almost_. It would have been impeccable had the corners of the pureblood's mouth not turned upwards ever so slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Zero let out a soft chuckle and shook his head lightly. "Sure you don't."

A few peaceful moments of companionable silence followed as the two just stood there looking at each other with clear amusement twinkling in their eyes.

But all too soon the playful atmosphere had to vanish, as slowly, Zero's smile waned and morphed into a sad one. With a soft sigh, the silver-haired teen asked a question he believed he already knew the answer to. "I can't stay here for the night…can I?"

Kaname released a sigh of his own as he regarded his companion for a few silent moments. "Are you actually willing to take that risk?"

A light frown crossed Zero's features briefly. "What risk?"

Another sigh, this time heavier. "Zero-kun, you do realize where you are, don't you?"

Zero nodded.

Kaname specified just to be certain, "It's the Moon Dormitory."

Another nod.

"A place full of _vampires_."

Another nod. Now it was Kaname's turn to frown at the unchanging expression on Zero's face. Perhaps the teen had gotten _too_ used to them and their company. And pleasant as the realization was for Kaname, it was also dangerous for Zero himself, which certainly didn't sit well with the pureblood.

"…A place where a _pureblood_ lives."

Zero's brows creased anew, he tilted his head slightly to the side. " _So_?"

Breathing what felt like a hundredth heavy sigh that evening, Kaname closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt tired all of a sudden.

Silence settled over the room once more.

Kaname didn't know how long it lasted, but apparently that amount of time was long enough for Zero to get concerned – for an unknown to him reason – and walk up to him, as the next thing Kaname saw was the said silver-haired teen right in front of him, clutching the hem of his jacket's sleeve in an endearingly tentative manner and looking at him with a slightly uneasy expression on his face.

Kaname couldn't help a gentle smile that slowly stretched his lips of its own volition upon the sight, just as he couldn't help himself when his hand rose to cup the side of Zero's face, and by the time the pureblood realized what he had done, it was too late.

He seriously needed to work on improving his control over _his own damn limbs_. It was just beyond frustrating.

Wide amethyst eyes — fully expressing mutual surprise of the two occupants of the room, albeit it remained mostly concealed on Kaname's part, _thankfully_ — blinked up at the pureblood in clear bewilderment, yet their owner made no attempt to pull away.

Kaname's heart fluttered, _the annoying treacherous thing_.

Instead of removing his hand as he had originally intended to do upon realizing what he had unknowingly done and as he certainly would have done had Zero's reaction been any different, Kaname let it stay there, his thumb caressing the alabaster skin softly.

Zero drew a quiet, sharp breath, but still remained firmly in place.

A small, sweet smile slowly stretched Kaname's lips as he let the touch last for another few moments before reluctantly removing his hand.

"I will walk you home," the pureblood offered after a long moment of a strangely pleasant silence.

Zero blinked, taking a few seconds to come out of his slight daze. Reciprocating Kaname's smile, he gave a slow nod, "Mm," before asking, "Would you like some caramel tea?"

Kaname felt the corners of his mouth lift further.

"I can cook one of your favorites for tonight's dinner, too. It's been a while, after all."

_'An impossibly_ _long one at that.'_ Kaname mentally added, already nodding his head and thanking Zero for the offer that he gratefully accepted without a moment's hesitation as the two made their way out of the pureblood's living quarters.


	29. Illusive Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _ **A/N:** And here I am again with a new chapter. Yay! :D_  
> 
> _Sorry for yet another delay, dearests. As always, RL can be a royal pain in the ass, and the fact that I'm not exactly the fastest writer there is doesn't really help *sighs heavily*_
> 
> _But anyway, here is the new chapter. Sorry for the wait and thank you for your patience to all those who are still following this story. And of course, thank you for the kudos and for all your wonderful, inspiring comments. They are always a huge, HUGE source of support and inspiration *nods*_
> 
> _As per usual, disclaimer stands, warnings and everything else remain. Oh, and all mistakes are still mine._
> 
> _And now…Hope you will enjoy reading! :D_

* * *

 

Ichiru was quiet — unusually, almost eerily so. Had been for some time now, actually. 

He had been doing it often lately — spacing out, going somewhere in his mind, some places only he knew. He would usually just sit still staring off into space unseeingly on such occasions. Often he would barely even blink. Sometimes he would lift his hand and stare at it dazedly, maybe flexing his fingers while he was at it now and then. Other times he would stare at him — _through_ him, really. It made Zero feel uncomfortable every time, though he was reluctant to admit it even to himself.

It was weird, to say the least. He wasn't used to feeling this way around his twin, and he sure as hell _didn't want_ to get used to it. 

Thankfully, tonight wasn't one of such nights. It was simple spacing out. Although it was still worrying. 

Zero breathed a soft sigh as he watched his twin carefully, absently wondering how long it would take Ichiru to snap out of his daze and get back to normal this time around. 

 _'Normal…'_ Zero mentally repeated, a feeling of apprehension coming over him and spreading slowly with sickening intensity.

 _Was_ there any 'normal' left for them at this stage…?

He hated thinking about it, but he knew there was no escaping it anymore. Something had changed. Something _in Ichiru_ had changed. He was…different. His aura was different. He _felt_ different, and Zero struggled to fathom the nature of that change. 

It had started a while ago. Unexpected, incomprehensible, alarming. It had been going on and off, and now it looked like it had _finally_ come to an end. Which was supposed to be a good thing. 

Ichiru seemed to have gotten stronger. His _vampire side_ seemed to have gotten stronger, as it felt more pronounced, more persistent to Zero's hunter senses. Whether it was good or not Zero couldn't say for sure. He only knew that he was glad that his twin hadn't fallen to the Level E as he had secretly feared for quite some while now. He was also glad Ichiru had gotten stronger, even as a vampire, but...

There was just something...disturbing...about this change. It was unanticipated, it was unknown, it was unexplainable, and that was always scary and unsettling. Such things were what unfailingly brought doubts, worries, difficulties and more often than not, unforeseen complications and troubles. 

_What if it was a temporary change?_

_What if the good condition wasn't going to last?_

_What if things suddenly turned for the worst?_

_What...would be of_ Ichiru _then...?_

And more importantly right now…

_Had the others noticed already? Cross? Yagari? Kaito?_

_…_ The hunters _?_

_What if they had? What would they do?_

_…What would they do_ to Ichiru _…?_

He knew it wouldn't be anything good. He knew how they viewed his twin and he wasn't naive enough to think they cared about what happened to Ichiru. He was also almost certain the same applied to him. If they deemed Ichiru a threat, they wouldn't miss their chance, and not even Cross would be able to stop them. 

Those were his deepest fear and his greatest worry, and he was terrified of how close they were to turning into reality. 

Zero breathed a long sigh, starting when a familiar voice suddenly pulled him out of his musings. 

"You're doing it again, nii-san." 

Zero looked up at Ichiru, only now realizing his twin had come out of his daze and was now looking at him, _studying him_. He loathed to think how uneasy that made him feel. Ichiru had always been good at seeing right through him and getting inside his mind, but now it was different. It almost felt _physical_. 

"W-what?" Zero pushed back his discomfort enough to speak and concentrate on their conversation. 

"You're doing it again," Ichiru repeated. Met with Zero's slight frown of confusion, he elaborated. "Getting yourself sick with worry over things. Over _me_. You've been doing it a lot lately." In fact, his brother had been doing _too much_ of it for Ichiru's liking. 

A small smile came to Zero's face, his previously troubled expression softened. "That's my job as your big brother."

"…You do realize you're not even half a day older than me, right?" 

"Doesn't matter, I still was here first. So just give it up and let me worry to my heart's content." 

Ichiru sighed. "I would have, if you didn't take it to such extremes each time." 

Zero frowned, almost offended. "I don't." He crossed his arms over his chest. "And you're hardly one to talk."

"You _do_." Ichiru insisted, unconsciously mirroring his twin's expression and posture. "And even though I disagree with you, _I_ will be the adult here and admit that we deserve each other."

Zero snorted. "That's a first."

"Oh, I am so not taking your bait." 

"What bait?" Zero asked with a slight tilt of his head, looking all innocent and confused while barely keeping a smirk off his face. Oh, this was _fun_. 

" _That_ one."

"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"Nii-san…" Ichiru all but growled out.

"Yes?"

"Stop it."

Zero blinked, still managing to maintain his innocent and rightly confused countenance in spite of his endless amusement. "Stop what exactly?"

Ichiru growled in mild warning that was hardly anywhere close to being real. 

Zero chuckled before taking a guess, "Being _you_?" Because that was _exactly_ what Zero was doing, and they both knew it. And boy, did it feel _good_. No wonder Ichiru liked getting on people's nerves so much. 

Ichiru scowled. " _Yes_ , that. _Please_." He ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh. "Gosh, you can be such an insufferable ass."

Zero smiled before replying with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I do always have the best example to learn from right before my eyes." 

"At least I never act like an ass towards _you_." Ichiru wasn't pouting as he threw that accusation at his twin. He absolutely was _not_. 

"That's not what I'm doing. I haven't even started getting to that part yet." Zero's smile widened. "You surely underestimate your talent for being a _royal ass_."

" _Fine_. Just leave it already." When Zero didn't say anything and only continued grinning at him, Ichiru gave a frustrated groan and added, " _Please_?"

A hearty chuckle escaped Zero at that. He was tempted to tease his beloved twin for a bit longer, but decided to take pity on him in the end. With a sigh and an indulgent smile, he conceded. "Can't really refuse you when you're asking so nicely, can I?" He reached out and ruffled the younger teen's hair affectionately. 

Ichiru breathed a sigh of his own and happily leaned into the familiar touch, closing his eyes and shifting closer to his counterpart on the bed. His hand went up and settled on the nape of Zero's neck to pull his twin closer, bringing their foreheads together. The two lapsed into a comfortable silence after that.

It was only after a long while that Ichiru broke it with another sigh followed by a quiet question. "What made you so agitated?" He asked, opening his eyes to look up at his other half. "Was it me? Did I scare you?"

Amethyst eyes widened. "What?" It took Zero a moment to really register the questions. "No," he denied, his brows drawing together in a small frown as he drew back a bit and shook his head. "No, of course not." 

"You can't really lie to me, you know."

"I'm not lying." 

"You're trying to." 

"I'm not."

"There you go again."

Zero sighed heavily and made to move further away, but Ichiru's hand on his upper arm stopped him. Silence fell over the room once more as the twins engaged in a staring contest.

Another long sigh left Zero after some while. "I'm just…worried. That's all." 

"You shouldn't be. I'm fine." Ichiru replied calmly without missing a beat. 

Zero lowered his head and averted his gaze, a frown returning to his features. Ichiru could tell his twin wasn't fully convinced. 

Sighing, Ichiru cupped Zero's face in his hands and forced his counterpart to look up at him anew. "I really am, nii-san. Better than fine. I feel great." He smiled warmly, his thumbs stroking the smooth skin of his brother's cheeks. "So there is nothing to worry about."

"…But the Association-" 

"Shouldn't concern us." Ichiru cut Zero off before the older teen could finish, all traces of warmth gone from his features, replaced by cold contempt he had always felt for the Hunter Association. "I'm not falling, and I won't — I _can't_ , you know that as well as I do, nii-san." 

"Yes, but what was it then?" Zero asked anxiously, his fingers locking around Ichiru's wrists. " _What_ happened back then?"

Ichiru couldn't help but avert his gaze, his hands slid down from Zero's cheeks, ready to retreat altogether, but they didn't make it past his twin's neck, forced to stay by Zero's unrelenting hold. Ichiru exhaled a shuddering breath, stubbornly refusing to meet familiar amethyst eyes of his brother. Shame couldn't be more obvious on his face as he replied quietly, "I don't know."  

Immediately, Zero regretted bringing up the subject. That wasn't his intention. He hadn't meant to make Ichiru feel guilt — _yet again_ — over what he had unwittingly done. 

Taking a slow breath, then releasing it in the same manner, Zero gave Ichiru's wrists in his hold a light squeeze and leaned forward a bit, trying to catch his twin's gaze. A gentle, apologetic smile came to his lips the moment their eyes met, and Zero spoke softly, "I'm sorry." Carefully, he took Ichiru's hands in his and lowered them, not once letting go as he settled them down on their knees with a brief reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry, Ichiru," he repeated, continuing as soothingly as he could, "I didn't mean it like that."

There was a moment of silence before Ichiru gave a soft sigh and replied, "…I know."  

"I'm just worried." More than Ichiru thought he was. More than anyone could know. "And I want to get to the bottom of it. So please," Zero's expression turned imploring. Already Ichiru knew he wouldn't be able to deny his twin whatever he was going to ask of him. " _Please_ , Ichiru, help me with it. Okay?"    

There was another sigh. Then Ichiru gave a small nod.  

A smile slowly stretched across Zero's lips, his hand rose to pat Ichiru's head affectionately. 

A comfortable silence settled over the room anew. It lasted for some while, until Ichiru interrupted it with a request.

"I want to take a walk. Can we get out of here?" 

"Of course. You're not a prisoner here, you know."

"Mostly feels like I am."

Zero sighed, "Ichiru…"

"Okay, maybe I'm not exactly a prisoner," Ichiru conceded, albeit only partially. "But I do feel like I'm some kind of a lab rat for that idiot Idol to play doctor with."

Zero's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and so did Ichiru's after a moment that it had taken him to realize what exactly he had just said. He let out a groan of frustration, covering his face with his hand only to avoid looking at his twin — _and_ to hide his blush of utter mortification. He knew Zero was barely resisting the urge to burst into laughter — he could tell even without seeing his counterpart's face. His amusement was almost palpable.

Ichiru lowered his head and hunched up with another groan, his words muffled as he said next, "That came out _so_ wrong…"   

There was a hearty chuckle followed by a quiet, suppressed chortle. "It sure did."

Ichiru groaned again, this time louder, his blush deepening along with his mortification. "Forget it. Erase it from your brain," came the muffled demand that sounded more like a whine to Zero's ears, which only heightened the older teen's amusement further.

"I don't think I can. The images are just-"

" _Don't_ imagine anything!" Ichiru looked up, wide-eyed and extremely flushed. It was so unusual to see Ichiru in such a state that Zero couldn't help getting a bit worried for his twin. He had to suppress his instinctive urge to feel Ichiru's forehead. " _Geez_ , nii-san, you're unbelievable." Ichiru continued, cringing in obvious disgust. His face was still red though. 

Zero gave another chuckle. " _Me_? _You're_ the one who said _that_." 

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it!"

Zero hummed, tilting his head to the side as he pretended to contemplate his twin's words. "Do I really?"

"Wh-wha—? Gosh, nii-san, what _is_ it with you today? You're impossible!" Ichiru exclaimed indignantly. "I'm your cute little brother! You're supposed to love and cherish and spoil me rotten!" 

Zero arched an eyebrow at that, a smile of pure amusement playing on his lips. "Haven't I been doing exactly that since, well, I don't know, probably even _before_ our birth?"

"Well, you're totally slacking off today!" Ichiru accused with a pout as he crossed his arms over his chest.  

Yet another chuckle escaped Zero. To say that he deemed his twin's current behavior adorable would be an understatement. "You make it sound like it's my job or something, you know."

"It's your _duty_!" There was genuine conviction in Ichiru's tone. He did actually think so. 

That realization only amused Zero further and elicited another laugh from him. "I see. Well, it's nice to finally discover what my _true_ purpose in life is." Zero didn't bother to hide his sarcasm as he said that.  

Ichiru snorted before replying in the same manner, "I'm amazed it took you _this_ long to realize."

Zero shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I was too busy pampering you." 

Ichiru hummed thoughtfully. "Well, then it can't be helped."

The two went silent for a few moments, looking at each other with identical grins, before simultaneously bursting into laughter, unable to keep themselves in check anymore. It took them some time to calm down, and even after they had, they still failed to hold back small chuckles that kept escaping them. 

The atmosphere in the room was pleasantly light, and it seemed like nothing could spoil it, but Ichiru's good mood evaporated into thin air the second the door of his temporary room was pushed open by one Aidou Hanabusa.   

"Okay, Kiryuu Ichiru, it's time for your nightly check-up." The noble announced as he entered the room in confident strides.

Ichiru scowled, glaring at the newcomer.

Seeing the blond vampire and Ichiru's reaction to his sudden appearance, Zero couldn't help but burst out laughing anew, attracting the attention of both vampires.

" _Dammit_ , nii-san, stop it!" Ichiru hissed through his teeth before turning to Aidou, his scowl darkening as he barked angrily, "What the fuck?! Get the hell out, you creep!"

Aidou halted with a start, turquoise eyes widened. "C- _creep_?" He blinked, genuinely confused and just as affronted. "What the hell, you ungrateful brat!?" The noble exclaimed, looking very much like an angry cat ready to attack. He stalked forward, but his legs stopped of their own accord when Ichiru took an offensive stance with a threatening growl rumbling in his throat. Aidou resisted the urge to retreat as his instincts were screaming at him to do. He wouldn't back down, his pride would never let him. Even more so if it was one of the Kiryuu twins he was up against.

Zero chose not to interfere just yet, preferring to enjoy the situation a bit longer. 

It took some while before the twins actually got out to take that walk.

To Ichiru's greatest annoyance and Zero's deepening amusement, Aidou somehow ended up going with them.

 **-o-**  

"Well, if it isn't the great Takamiya Kaito himself greeting our unworthy selves," sounded a familiar to Kaito voice that never failed to make him grimace. Although it was mostly its owner and their words that provoked such a reaction rather than the voice itself. "Today must be the luckiest day of our insignificant lives."

Kaito didn't bother to hide his annoyance as he tsked and replied, "Of all the hunters they just _had to_ pick _you_ … Honestly, weren't there _better_ candidates?"

The expression on Kaito's red-haired opponent's face darkened while his mirthless smile widened, turning even colder than it had been originally. "Sorry to disappoint you, your highness. Apparently, our boss doesn't deem this _'mission'_ difficult enough to send here higher-ranking hunters worthy of _your_ precious time." 

Kaito's scowl deepened. So far this exchange of pleasantries had been going on for no more than a minute yet he was already tired. It was just it. He had never gotten along with this particular hunter, and he was sure he never would. The guy hated him and always used _every_ opportunity he got to express his highly negative attitude towards him. Why though, Kaito honestly had no idea. 

A weary sigh escaped him. Pinching the bridge of his nose briefly, Kaito tried to reply as calmly as he could, "You know damn well it's _not_ about the ranks. What I'm worried about is your lack of self-control and tendency to shoot _any_ bloodsucker you see on the spot."

One red eyebrow rose. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do as hunters?"   

"Not if the target is _sane_."

"There's no such thing as a _sane_ bloodsucker." The redhead shot back with a grimace of distaste, crossing his arms over his chest. "And since when have _you_ turned into _their_ advocate? Getting confused about the side you're supposed to be on, are you?"

"Like hell I am." 

The redhead's expression turned condescending. "You sure? It must be hard to tell right from wrong after fraternizing with the enemy for as long as _you_ have."

Kaito frowned. "The fuck are you running your mouth about?"

"Why, your _special_ relationship with the Kiryuu brats, of course. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there are other bloodsuckers you're chummy with." 

Kaito growled, unconsciously taking a threatening step forward as he replied, "You better shut up and watch your damn mouth from now on if you want to keep your face intact."

"Oh?" The redhead smiled even wider, also stepping forth. "Did I hit a nerve there?"

"All you did was exhaust my patience with your delirious bullshit. You better check that head of yours before it's too late."

"You can rest assured that my head is just fine. _Yours_ , on the other hand, must be in some serious need of medical attention if you actually believe there is nothing wrong with your current views." 

"You bastard-"

"Okay, that's enough." A third voice sounded, interrupting the two and stopping Kaito from stepping closer and grabbing his opponent by the collar like his hands had been itching to do for some time now. 

"Huh?" With displeasure evident on his face as well as in his tone, the redhead turned to the third hunter that had been there since the beginning yet stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange. "Since when did you become important enough to order me around?"

There was a sigh — a very heavy and tired one that managed to express just how _unimpressed_ the third hunter was with his redhead companion. Then he gave his reply, "I'm not 'ordering you around', sempai, I'm just saying we're all grown-up enough to be able to do without your bickering at least _this once_." He turned to Kaito. "Isn't that right, Takamiya-san?"

Kaito scowled before turning away with a disgruntled snort that was mirrored by his redhead opponent.  

There was a questionably peaceful moment of tense silence. Then Kaito returned his attention to the pair.

"Where is the last one?"

The two hunters frowned simultaneously in a wordless question, so Kaito elaborated, "I was told there would be _three_ hunters."

The redhead arched an eyebrow while his younger companion's frown deepened. It was the latter who gave a verbal reply for the two of them. 

"We haven't heard anything of the sort."

But the redhead couldn't refrain from baiting Kaito, after all. "You sure you didn't imagine that? I wouldn't put it past your delusional mind. Must have gotten even worse than before." 

There was a heavy sigh. "Sempai…"

"And _you_ must _really_ want to get into that hospital ward of the Association if you're asking me to help you with it _this_ persistently." Kaito growled menacingly, once again stepping forward threateningly. Realizing the actual danger of the situation this time, the youngest of the three hunters blocked Kaito's way in an attempt to stop the man before he could make good on his threat, which was _exactly_ what he _was_ going to do without a doubt. Thankfully, the ash brown-haired hunter did halt, and the youngest of the trio couldn't help breathing a discreet sigh of relief, the tension in his shoulders easing a bit. Unlike his idiot of a companion, he sure as hell _did not_ want to fight someone like Takamiya Kaito. 

Hazel eyes narrowed down at him, sending a cold shiver down his spine and making him tense up anew. Great. Just great. Now _he_ was on the man's bad side as well. _'Damn it.'_

There was a _very_ long moment of _very_ strained silence, which probably would have turned into a whole hour if it weren't for a new presence joining them. 

It was another hunter — apparently, the one Kaito had told them about. He didn't know him, but it didn't matter. At this moment he couldn't be more grateful for the man's very timely arrival. 

A wordless nod was the only greeting the newcomer offered. It was obvious he either hadn't noticed the tense atmosphere surrounding the trio — which was impossible, one had to be completely deprived of _all_ their senses to achieve that — or chose to ignore it on purpose — more than likely, but still not so easy to accomplish. Not that he cared. He was just glad the man was there, whoever the hell he was.

"Damn finally," Kaito grumbled irritably before turning around and heading for the iron gates of the Cross Academy. "Let's go." 

Everyone followed without protesting or saying anything whatsoever. 

 **-o-**  

A tense silence filled the classroom as Yagari stopped his lecture and shifted his attention from the textbook in his hand to the Night Class students. After a few moments of observation, the hunter heaved a long sigh of unhidden irritation before focusing his gaze on the only pureblood in the room. "Tell your pets to cut the crap already, will you, Kuran? They're annoying."

"They're agitated," Kaname replied calmly. "Which is understandable, considering the increased hunter presence." 

"The hell are they getting agitated for? It's not like those hunters are here for them."

A perfect eyebrow rose skeptically. "Are _they_ aware of that?" 

"They're supposed to be. But even if they aren't," Yagari folded his arms over his chest as he shifted his weight to one leg, a mocking smirk slowly came to his lips, "don't tell me great noble bloodsuckers such as yourselves are actually scared to take on a couple of cute li'l hunters?"

Growls and hisses filled the room, and Yagari let out a derisive snort. "Charming. Not as meek as you try to seem, are you?" 

"Settle down, everyone," Kaname commanded sternly when his vampires got louder in their display of hostility.

"Wasn't that hard, was it?" Yagari commented indifferently. "Now, if you're done playing around, let's get back to business, shall we? Whatever you want to know about those hunters you can go ask Cross _after_ my class. And right now you better shut up and listen."

"…Aren't students supposed to _interact_ with their teacher during the lesson?" Shiki asked with a slight tilt of his head, his usual blank expression in place.

"My class, my rules. We interact when _I_ deem it necessary."

"That's rather one-sided. And despotic." Rima said, earning a nod from Shiki next to her, as well as from a few other Night Class members.

Yagari shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing new to you hierarchy-obsessed leeches then." Quite a few eyebrows twitched in annoyance at that, but no one said anything in response. "Now, shut it and start paying attention to the damn lesson. I'm losing my patience here."

Everyone stayed quiet. 

Yagari gave his nod of approval. "Good."

The class resumed.

**-o-**

"Goddammit, would you calm down already?" Ichiru growled out through tightly gritted teeth as he glared at Aidou over his shoulder. "You're unnerving me."

Aidou bristled at the words. "Shut up! It's not like I can help it!" He tried to defend himself. "There are too many hunter auras around here! It's making me nervous." 

Ichiru arched a skeptical eyebrow. " _That_ is all it takes? Wow, it's a bit too pathetic even for you."

"It's not!" Aidou closed the distance between himself and the twins in a few brisk strides. 

Ichiru glowered and made a disgusted sound. "Don't come near me." 

Aidou ignored him, continuing, "It's a perfectly natural reaction for a vampire!"

"It's only a few hunters, and you're a freaking Level B," Ichiru countered, unimpressed. "You've been doing just fine all these years, so get a grip already." 

The blond faltered, going silent for a few thoughtful moments before replying, "W-well, it's different with you and other hunters staying here."  

Zero lifted his brows inquiringly and tilted his head to the side as he turned his attention to Aidou. "Different how?" 

"It's not like you're seeking to murder us." The noble replied with a concentrated frown after another short while of contemplation. "You're all annoying and a huge pain in the neck, but we're already used to you, so your presence here isn't that much of a bother anymore."

"So basically, you don't see us as a threat." Ichiru summed up. He turned to Zero then. "It wasn't my imagination, he did say that, right, nii-san?" 

"What?!" Aidou exclaimed, his eyes wide with incredulity as he looked at the twins. "That's not what I-"

"Pretty much." Zero confirmed his counterpart's words with a nod, both merrily ignoring Aidou now.

"He totally underestimates us, doesn't he?" Zero gave another nod, and Ichiru continued with a huff, as though genuinely offended. "How arrogant."  

"Well, that's the great _'Idol-sempai'_ we're talking about. What did you expect?"

Poor Aidou was red with frustration by now. "Stop it, you two!" He demanded vehemently.   

"Is it just me or he _is_ trying to order us around, nii-san? Gosh, can you _believe_ this arrogant _Idol_?" Ichiru shook his head in clear disapproval, his expression fully corresponding to the act he was putting on. "That's what you get for being nice to people like him."

Aidou's face was priceless. The twins barely managed to contain their laughter.

"You're _never_ nice to me!" The noble said accusingly, obviously talking to Ichiru. 

"I am." Ichiru argued with unshakable conviction that threw the older vampire off balance further.

"He is." Zero supported his twin, nodding. "In his own way."

" _What_ kind of way is it?!" Aidou was steadily losing his patience. Everything about his posture said so.

"The one that's perfect for a masochist like you." Ichiru retorted with a knowing smirk.

"I am _not_ a ma-" Aidou faltered, his face turned bright red. His voice lowered to a hissing whisper when he resumed speaking, "I'm not a masochist!"

Two pairs of lavender eyes blinked. Simultaneously, the twins tilted their heads to the side before asking at the same time, "You sure?"

Aidou unconsciously stepped sideways away from the two. Their perfect synchronicity, fascinating as it may seem, somehow gave him the creeps.  

"Isn't that why you keep getting into trouble with Kaname?"

"I don't do it on purpose!"

Ichiru gave a derisive snort. He didn't comment, but he didn't need to. It was more than obvious what he thought.

Aidou got it loud and clear, so he insisted, "I don't!"

"Well, if you say so…" Zero shrugged. 

It was obvious the twins weren't convinced though — everything in their demeanor suggested so. Or so they made it seem, at the very least, and Aidou totally fell for it.

"Argh!" The noble groaned as he mussed his hair exasperatedly, clearly at his wits' end. "Goddammit!"  

The twins blinked again, now looking at the noble with unconcealed amusement.  

"Really, Aidou-sempai, you don't have to be so embarrassed about it. No one here is judging you or anything. Personally, I don't give a damn about your preferences." Ichiru said with an indifferent shrug at the end. 

"Same here," Zero nodded. "Honestly, if there's anything you should be concerned about, it's your words about us being harmless. You better make sure not to say anything like that in front of our master. He _will_ shoot your reckless ass just to prove you wrong. You won't die, _most likely_ , but it'll still hurt like hell for a while."

"Oh, Kaito too." Ichiru provided helpfully, his face twisting into a grimace as he continued after a brief pause. "He is probably even worse. He will be nastier about it. And craftier. I'm pretty sure the bastard is a freaking closet sadist, so he'll probably do everything nice and slow just to prolong his entertainment." 

There was an affirmative nod from Zero. 

Then another thought struck Ichiru and he added, "Oh, but then again, maybe Aidou-sempai will actually enjoy it." He turned to Zero, easily ignoring an indignant cry from Aidou. "You know, a masochist finding themselves a sadist, that kind of thing. Maybe it could work. What do you think, nii-san?"

Zero hummed, seeming to actually be considering the possibility. Before he could voice his opinion, however, Aidou exploded, redder and angrier than ever. It was a wonder he managed to hold back from using his powers and freezing everything — and everyone — in the vicinity. 

"That's it! I've had enough!" The blond screeched before turning around and stomping away angrily in the direction of the Moon Dorms. "Like I'm going to take any more crap from these ungrateful shitty brats!" He groused under his breath, huffing and muttering curses all the way back. 

The silence that followed seemed almost deafening in contrast with all the noise that had been there previously. It lasted for some while as the twins watched Aidou leave, until Zero returned his attention to Ichiru and spoke.  

"…I think you're starting to rub off on him. He would have never said that last part out loud before."

"Just me?" Ichiru turned to his other half with raised brows. "Don't pin it all on me, nii-san. You have a hand in it too as my accomplice."  

Zero mirrored his twin's expression. "Since when have I become one?"

"You've always been one. You just never noticed."

Zero hummed thoughtfully.

"But anyway," Ichiru was quick to shrug the matter off, a broad grin lighting up his face, "now that the nuisance is gone, where shall we go?"

It was amazing how one's mood could change so drastically in such a short span of time. 

**-o-**

"Did something happen between you, Ichiru-kun and Aidou?" 

Zero looked over his shoulder, blinking. He went over the events of the day in his head, replying with a light shrug of his shoulders after a few moments, "No, nothing out of the ordinary." He returned to his task at hand, which was cutting vegetables. "Why?" 

"I had a rather…weird conversation with him tonight." 

Zero hummed softly. "What did he say?" 

"I didn't quite understand. He was too agitated to convey any useful information. It was just screaming, disjointed rambling and inarticulate complaints." And swearing. _Swearing_. Never in his life had Kaname expected to hear such language from _Aidou_ , of all people. _And_ in his presence, no less. 

"So why did you think Ichiru and I have something to do with it?"

"Well, your names came up quite a few times there. That and the strong terms he used when referring to you two hardly left any room for doubt."  

Zero chuckled at that, having imagined the situation quite vividly, albeit roughly. "We are rubbing off on him, then. Just as Ichiru said."

Kaname raised an eyebrow, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "So you did do something to him."

Zero gave a shrug. "Just the usual nice chat."

Kaname chuckled. Oh, he knew those 'nice chats' of theirs all too well. He couldn't help but feel genuine pity for Aidou, even if a huge part of him was secretly having fun right now. "I somehow doubt it. He doesn't usually get _that_ worked up."

"Well, _maybe_ we did tease him a bit. Only slightly though. Honest."

Kaname's smile widened, another hearty chuckle escaping him. "I can imagine."

Zero looked over his shoulder at the pureblood with slightly widened eyes. "You don't believe me, do you?" He faked being offended, his expression changing accordingly and a small pout settling on his lips. "I'm hurt."

Kaname gave yet another chuckle before offering his reply. "Of course I believe you. But I do think you're making it sound much more innocent than it actually was." 

"Even if I am, we still weren't as bad as you." As he was saying that, Zero put down the knife in his hand and turned around to fully face the pureblood. Folding his arms over his chest, he arched an eyebrow at the other, a meaningful smirk playing on his lips.

Dark brows rose in surprise. "Me?" Kaname blinked and tilted his head to the side, his face the epitome of innocent confusion. "What on earth are you talking about, Zero-kun?"

Zero rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't you play that card with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Another innocent blink. "Truthfully, I don't." 

Zero gave a deep chuckle of amusement. "It's almost scary how good you are at it."

Kaname smiled and asked with another tilt of the head. "At what?"

"Alright, stop it now or I'll hit you."

Kaname's expression turned to one of hurt mixed with genuine disbelief. "You would actually do such a thing? To me?"

"If you don't stop asking for it, I sure as hell will."

Kaname hummed as he stroked his chin thoughtfully before replying, "That would be quite a refreshing experience."

A soft laugh escaped Zero. He shook his head. "Maybe you have a whole lot more in common with Aidou than we thought."

Kaname conveyed his question through an inquiring look. 

Zero shook his head again. "It's nothing." Chuckling amusedly to himself, he turned around and concentrated on cooking anew. "Just come over here and have a taste. I need a second opinion."  

Kaname easily dismissed the previous matter with a shrug of his shoulders, forgetting about it altogether in less than a minute as he happily complied with Zero's request and let himself enjoy the rare alone time with his beloved.


	30. Brewing Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** Hello again, dearests! :D Somehow I'm back a little sooner than expected, albeit not as soon as I would have preferred. Ah well, still better than usual, right? xD It's a good thing that a big chunk of this chapter has been ready and waiting since the previous update. _
> 
> _But anyway. Very belatedly, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope your holidays were awesome ;D Mine certainly were, but damn, they ended much too quickly *sighs* But oh well, at least I still have something to look forward to, and that is my vacation at the end of February *sighs dreamily* Only have to get through all the working days before that wonderful time comes *sighs* And overcome this stupid cold I'm struggling against now *wipes her runny nose* Dammit -_-;_
> 
> _Sorry for that *laughs awkwardly* Now back to the matter at hand._
> 
> _As always, thank you all for the kudos and for all your wonderful, amazing, inspiring comments! I'm truly grateful for your continued support, it's what keeps me going here *nods*_
> 
> _So disclaimer still stands, warnings and everything else remain the same, all mistakes are mine._
> 
> _And now without further ado…Please enjoy! :D_

 

_He was so cruel…_

_How could he? How could he be so cold, so cruel to_ her _of all people…?_

 _Didn't he love her? Wasn't she_ special _to him? Didn't he_ care _for her…?_

 _He_ did _, didn't he? Of course he did. Right?_ Right _? Why else would he be so kind and attentive to her?_

 _…Well, at least he_ had been _that way_ only _to her in the past._ Now _, however…_

 _It was different._ He _was different. He wasn't the way he used to be with her anymore. All that kindness, warmth, attention, affection he used to so generously lavish her with weren't hers alone anymore._

…No, that wasn't quite right. 

 _They_ weren't hers _anymore._ At all. 

Yuuki curled into herself further on the bed, hugging her knees closer to her chest, her trembling arms tightening around them as she sobbed quietly into them.

 _How could he be so cruel to her? How could he give the special treatment reserved for her alone to someone else? How_ dare _he?_

Traitor…

 _How dare_ they _?_

Traitors. They were traitors, both of them. 

 _Didn't they see what they were doing to her? Didn't they realize how much pain she was in, how much she was suffering because of_ their selfishness _…?_

 _How_ could _they be so heartless? How could_ he _betray her like that?_

 _Didn't he know how much she loved him? She would do anything for him, she would give_ anything _only_ to be with him _._ _She would give_ him _her_ everything. _She was prepared for it and she wanted_ — longed — _to do just that more than anything else in this world. One word, even one gesture from him would be enough. She would follow his will without a moment's hesitation. So strong was her love for him, so unwavering was her dedication._

 _Didn't he know it? Didn't he realize how much she wanted to be with him? How deep her desire to become_ his _was? How much she longed to have his arms around her, to feel the warmth of his embrace, his body against hers, the beat of his heart against her form, his lips on hers, on her skin, on her neck,_ his fangs _on it_ , in _it, in her awaiting flesh, taking her blood, making her completely his, making her life essence a part of his own,_ for all eternity _…_

 _She was prepared for it — she_ dreamed _of it,_ craved _for it. She was born for it. She was the one for him, and not someone else._ She _was the one._

 _Couldn't he_ feel _it…?_  

…Cruel. How cruel of him not to pay her enough attention to notice. Even crueler if he _had_ noticed and was aware of everything yet chose to ignore her continuing torment. 

_She loved him so much, she was willing to dedicate her life to him, to give him anything he would ask of her, and yet…_

_It just didn't seem to be enough._

_Why?_ Why _wasn't it enough? No one loved him more than she did. No one_ could _love him more deeply than she did. No one would be able to bring him more happiness than her — she just knew it. He was supposed to know it, too, but even so…_

He just kept breaking her heart over and over again in the cruelest of ways.  

"Poor, poor thing…" _Sounded a familiar by now voice, so pleasantly deep and seductive it sent involuntary shivers down Yuuki's spine every time, even though it never stopped mocking her mercilessly, saying all the things she never wanted to hear, let alone admit. It never seemed to leave her these days, even when its owner wasn't around. Just like now. That man wasn't around, but_ it _was here, all too eager to hurt her, to crush her._  

"So much pain you are in… Our dear Kaname _is_ indeed so terribly, terribly cruel…" _The words were laced with derisive amusement, there wasn't even a trace of sincere sympathy in them._

"Making you endure so much suffering, even though he _knows_ how strong your feelings for him are, how deep…"

_She could easily imagine that man's face as he spoke, mirth clear in his unique different colored eyes, so frighteningly mesmerizing she could never bear to look into them for long._

"He gave you hope and made you think he loved you, only to crush your dreams by giving his heart to another, and to _whom_? To a _hunter_ , his natural enemy, someone he is supposed to despise and kill, someone who would _never_ be able to dedicate his everything to him like you would so _gladly_ do…"

 _She knew there would be a wide, dark smile playing on his lips as he would look at her condescendingly like he did_ every single time.  

"To think he could be so vicious, so deceitful, so… _dishonest with you_ … They are probably having the fun of their lives laughing at you, Kaname and his beloved hunter."  

 _The words hurt so much they made Yuuki feel actual physical pain. She couldn't breathe — she_ really _couldn't, her body itself was simply rejecting that natural action._  

"What? You don't believe it?" _Rido's voice responded to her thoughts of denial with a deeply amused chuckle following the words._ "Oh, you poor, foolish little girl… So easy to deceive, so easy to hurt… _That_ is exactly why you end up suffering so much."

_He would shake his head from side to side at the end of that sentence, uncaringly condescending as ever._

"Of course it _is_ true _._ Why on earth would they _not_ make fun of you and your foolishness behind your back? It is, after all, so entertaining. Wasn't it their sole goal to begin with…?" 

_Her futile attempts to deny his words would only amuse him further, her lack of any conviction whatsoever would only make her look even more pathetic in his eyes. And sure enough, he wouldn't hesitate to show it._

"Stupid, delusional little girl. Your stubborn rejection of unfavorable reality is so unwavering it's frustrating, commendable as it may be at the same time."

_He would sigh and shake his head again, as though truly exasperated. Yet his mocking smirk would never leave his lips. It would only grow and turn even more scornful as he would deliver the final blow._

"Honestly… Is it any wonder Kaname prefers his little hunter to _you_ …?"

_He would throw those degrading words with a snort of derision, looking down on her like she was nothing, making her feel even smaller than she already did. Then he would disappear, just like that, leaving her alone to wallow in her misery._

Crushed, pathetic, drowning in pain and self-pity…

…Bitter, frustrated, overcome with anger at unfairness and betrayal she had been subjected to.   

_How could he do such a thing? How could he just disregard her like that? How could he-_

_No,_ they _._

_How could they be so heartless…?_

Traitors. Despicable, selfish traitors. 

_How could they betray her trust? How dare they discard her feelings like that?_

She would never forgive them.

**-o-**

"Kaname-sama?" Yuuki uttered, blinking up at the pureblood somewhat dazedly, her brown eyes widening in surprise. A smile automatically came to her lips as it always did whenever her prince was so close to her, just within her reach. 

 _'Aah, there you go again with that foolishness of yours, little girl.'_ That voice again. _That man_ mocking her _yet again_. He truly enjoyed doing it, didn't he?

…Or was it her? Was it her own subconscious telling her what she already knew…?

_'You truly are hopeless. Hopelessly pathetic and stupid.'_

Was it really him? Or was it her mind playing tricks on her? 

_…Was she going crazy…?_

Mentally shaking off all the distracting thoughts, Yuuki forced herself to smile wider as she opened the entrance door further and stepped aside to let the pureblood into the house. "Please come in."

Kaname did so with a grateful nod and a gentle smile. "Thank you, Yuuki. How have you been?" 

"Good." Yuuki replied, doing her best to act naturally and keep her inner turmoil hidden. She had never known it was this difficult to pretend. She never could have imagined it could be this hard to keep a happy smile on. She was actually afraid she was failing miserably, as she thought she could feel her mouth quivering slightly in the corners from the strain. She could only hope it wasn't as noticeable as it felt. "Here, let me take your coat for you."

Kaname complied and handed Yuuki the said coat with another small nod and another softly spoken _'Thank you'_ before following the girl further inside the house. 

"Would you like something to drink?" Yuuki asked when Kaname settled on the living room couch. "Maybe tea?" 

"If it's not too much trouble." 

"Not at all!" That being her enthusiastic reply, Yuuki turned around, about to head out of the room, but Kaname's voice made her pause.

"Do you need help?" The pureblood asked, already getting up from the couch.

"Ah, no," Yuuki quickly responded, half-turning towards the pureblood for a few moments, "no, it's okay, Kaname-sama. Just wait here, I'll be right back." And so she promptly exited the living room and went to the kitchen, returning only after a few minutes with two cups of hot tea along with some snacks.

The two enjoyed their drink as they talked about recent events, school and whatever came to their minds. As the conversation went on, Yuuki felt herself relax somewhat, felt her initial uneasiness recede, her doubts fade, her hurt ease bit by bit, _that voice quiet down and then disappear altogether…_  

She actually felt truly happy for once in what seemed like a really long while. Even the smile she had had to force onto her face in the beginning had become sincere. It almost felt as though she had returned in _those days_ when _she_ had been the center of Kaname's world — or so it seemed to have been, now that she _really_ looked back on it. 

It _almost_ felt so. _Almost_. If only…

If only she could prevent herself from noticing those brief glances Kaname kept throwing at the entrance to the room they were currently occupying. They were subtle — barely perceptible even — and for some reason Yuuki was almost certain it wasn't a conscious action on her prince's part. But it still hurt. 

She could see anticipation in his garnet eyes every time they strayed there.

_It mocked her._

She could discern disappointment — even if it was concealed — in them when they didn't see what — _who_ — they wanted to see. 

_It reminded her over and over again._

She knew he hadn't come to see _her_. 

She could tell he wasn't completely with her, even if they sat mere inches away from each other. 

_He was so cruel…_

Her eyes stung, she could feel tears starting to rise, but she fought them back. She didn't want to look any more pathetic than she already was. 

_That man was right. Everything he had said…it was true, wasn't it?_

_They didn't care for her._

He _didn't care for her — certainly not the way he used to — anymore._

_'Why?'_

_They wanted to leave her behind. They_ were going to _leave her behind. They_ would _leave her behind._

He _would leave her behind._

So cruel… How could he be so cruel…?

_'…Why?'_

_They had betrayed her._

He _had betrayed her._

 _"Why…?"_  

Kaname stopped speaking and blinked down at the girl, his brows rising a bit. "Yuuki…?" 

"Why did you do it, Kaname-sama? How could you?" The girl all but demanded accusingly, still in her trance, still not meeting the pureblood's gaze, her eyes filled with hurt and brimming with unshed tears.

Kaname blinked again, taken aback. Frowning, he put his cup of tea along with its saucer down on the coffee table. "What do you mean?" He reached out to gently cup the girl's cheek like he had done countless of times before, but the contact was never made.  

Unexpectedly, Yuuki flinched away from his touch, and Kaname froze, completely lost.

Kaname's hand fell, his expression changed to one of genuine concern. "…Yuuki, dear, is there something wrong?" 

There was a very long moment of tense silence. 

"...Is it true?" Yuuki took a deep breath before looking up at her hero, her prince, _the love of her life_ , to ask a question that had been torturing her for way too long now. For a brief instant there, she got frozen by those painfully familiar, soulful garnet eyes, and almost faltered. _Almost_. Exhaling shakily, she spoke. "Do you love him?"

Kaname went rigid, his eyes widened. 

Yuuki didn't miss the reaction. Her already racing heartbeat quickened further, her fingers curled as she unconsciously clutched the hem of her skirt tightly. "Do you love Zero?" She finished through a lump in her throat, her voice but a hoarse whisper. 

Tense silence resumed.

"…Yuuki-"

"Do you?"  

Once again, it got awfully quiet.

The silence stretched for much longer this time, lasting until Kaname breathed a resigned sigh and conceded. 

"…I do."

Yuuki thought she had imagined hearing the words at first — she wanted that to be the case more than anything in the world. But she knew it wasn't, and it made the heartbreak that much more painful.

As the girl sat there watching her prince, unable to say anything in response, unable to do anything, really, in her numb state, she noticed Kaname's expression change. She frowned, not quite getting the new emotions there. 

"Yuuki…" Kaname called her name in that same manner he always did, his voice as sweet and gentle as ever. But there was something else in there this time. 

Kaname raised his hand and started reaching out towards Yuuki when it dawned on her. Immediately, the girl jumped up as though she had been burned and took a few steps back. She knew what those emotions were now.

_Pity._

He was _pitying_ her…

_How could he…? How could he be so cruel…?_

She couldn't believe it. She didn't _want_ to believe it. To think he would look at her that way, with _pity_ in his eyes. 

And then there was also…

_Guilt._

A confirmation of his betrayal and her foolishness. 

Kaname got up as well. "Yuuki-"

"Don't." Yuuki stopped the pureblood before he could offer her any words of comfort, which she knew was exactly what he was going to do. But of course, what else would he say when she was, as she had realized just a few seconds ago upon feeling hot tears running down her cheeks, in such a pathetic state. Absently, she wondered when she had started crying but quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant. She bowed her head, unable to look into those familiar eyes with those unfamiliar emotions in them — directed at _her_ , of all people — any longer. "Just… _don't_ …" She said hoarsely, her voice small, then turned around and left the room in hurried strides. 

Kaname didn't follow her. Somewhere deep inside, she had known he probably wouldn't, but she still couldn't help but have hope in her aching heart, and that made the disappointment and pain that much greater.

Her chest tightened further, tears kept streaming down her face and every breath she took hurt. She bumped into something- no, some _one_ on her way to her room but didn't pay the incident enough attention to stop, not even when she thought she heard her name being called. 

**-o-**

"Kaname?"

It was the sound of that familiar voice calling his name in a slightly worried tone that snapped Kaname out of his daze and broke another bout of suffocating silence that had ensued after Yuuki's departure from the living room. 

Looking up, Kaname's eyes finally found the person they had been trying to catch a glimpse of throughout the entire evening. A small, genuine smile immediately formed on the pureblood's lips, whereas the guilt he had been feeling after his conversation with Yuuki only intensified, now supported by shame and sadness. Even now, as he was internally cursing himself for causing his dear girl so much pain, for betraying her trust and feelings so cruelly, he couldn't help the joyous fluttering of his ever traitorous heart at the sight of his beloved. 

"Good evening, Zero-kun." Kaname greeted, trying to be discreet as he took in the rather appealing display the hunter made, obviously freshly bathed with his hair still wet and his usually pale cheeks slightly flushed, the soft scent of shampoo and soap teasing the pureblood's nostrils. Kaname couldn't help drawing a deep inconspicuous breath.    

"What happened?" Zero asked, frowning in what Kaname knew could only be concern. "Yuuki…I think she was crying…" 

Kaname's smile faltered, sadness and guilt returned and got more prominent on his face. Now mournful, garnet eyes lowered. "She was." He could feel Zero's inquiring gaze on him even without meeting it, so he explained. "Because of something I said. I never meant to upset her like that, but I still did."

There was no response. Kaname's misery intensified, now joined by fear.  

Zero got closer, his bare feet padding soundlessly on the floor. Kaname didn't look up even as Zero's form came into view, even as the silver-haired teen stopped to stand a mere step away from him. His pulse quickened.

There was a sigh. 

Involuntarily, Kaname tensed, his heart raced further. Then there was movement, and…

Kaname's eyes grew wide, he looked up sharply, his gaze finally locking with Zero's.

Another minute of stunned silence passed, neither of the two moved. Kaname could do nothing but blink stupidly as he stood there staring at Zero while his suddenly numb brain was trying to figure out what was going on. 

Zero was standing before him, only inches away, and his hand was on Kaname's head, _patting_ it. 

Kaname blinked again, still stunned, wondering what _exactly_ was going on, because he _honestly had no idea_. So he stayed still and quiet, which was the only thing he was capable of doing at the moment, really. 

But then, all of a sudden, a soft chuckle escaped Zero and his hand slowly retreated.

Kaname frowned, which was met with another chuckle from Zero, which in turn made the pureblood's frown deepen.  

"I'm sorry," Zero said after another few moments of silence followed by yet another chuckle. "But honestly, you should see your face right now."

That certainly didn't make things any easier for Kaname. 

Was there something wrong with his face? Just _what_ kind of expression was he making right now? Was it weird? Was it funny? 

Kaname was starting to feel genuinely and quite unpleasantly — not to mention uncharacteristically — insecure. About his _physical_ _appearance_ , of all things, too. Him. _Him_ , of all people — as conceited as that sounded. But hey, that was undeniable true. 

…God, he was turning into _Aidou_. The thought alone made the pureblood shudder.  

"My face?" Kaname tried to get an elaboration. 

"It's just priceless." Zero provided before letting out another chuckle and adding, "Ah, it got even funnier just now."

"Stop it." Kaname wasn't about to pout, and he absolutely _wasn't_ going to let himself blush, even though his cheeks were starting to feel uncomfortably warm.

Zero shrugged. "I'm not doing anything."

"You _are_." Kaname insisted almost accusingly. "You're making me feel like I'm Aidou. And you're making fun of me like I'm one."  

"Well, the two of you do have some things in common, as it turns out." 

Kaname arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Your masochistic tendencies, for one."

The pureblood's expression fully reflected just how baffled he felt at the notion. "I have no such inclinations."

"Aidou denies it too." Zero smirked. "Another similarity." 

Kaname frowned. "It certainly is not." He said before crossing his arms over his chest. " _I_ am stating the truth, _he_ is in denial."

Yet another chuckle came from the silver-haired teen. "Spoken exactly like someone in denial."

"…Why do I feel like I'm being bullied here right now? Which, for the record, makes me feel even _more_ like Aidou." 

The corners of Zero's mouth twitched as he fought to keep his smile from widening. He just couldn't help it. It was too funny. "Do you hate it?"

"I find it fairly frustrating." Kaname gave his honest answer. 

"Does it mean you're going to start treating Aidou more kindly from now on then?"

There wasn't a single moment of hesitation as Kaname replied, "Of course not. It's _Aidou_ we're talking about."

"…Somehow it seems totally unfair. I actually feel bad for the guy. Don't you?"

"Not particularly. And even if some rare times I do, the sentiment doesn't last long. His talent for bringing trouble upon himself is simply too formidable to be suppressed."

Zero snorted.

Kaname continued. "Is that why you’re giving me this whole 'being Aidou' experience? In his defense?"

Zero shook his head. "I'm not that compassionate." He gave an amused snort before continuing, " _And_ I actually enjoy that little entertainment of yours, so that's not it at all."

A frown returned to Kaname's face, his gaze was almost accusing as he asked, "So you're just bullying me?"

"That wasn't my original intention."

"Then what was?"

"Providing you some comfort, I guess."

One perfect dark eyebrow rose. "This is quite an odd way of doing it."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you reacted the way you did." Zero shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, so it's _my_ fault I'm being bullied?"

"It sure as hell isn't mine." Zero's expression shifted to one of indulgent amusement, he arched his eyebrow almost mockingly, continuing."And honestly, 'bullying' is too strong a term for it. We were just getting started." 

"…Why do I feel like I'm talking to a milder version of Ichiru-kun?"

"Probably because that's what I actually am. Now that Ichiru can't do his part, it's up to me to make sure you get your required share of teasing."

Kaname couldn't help chuckling at that. "I wouldn't exactly say I 'require' anything of the sort."

"Of course you do." Zero said with such certainty Kaname had no choice but to actually believe him. "It's been part of your life for the last several years. Not getting your usual dose can seriously disrupt the balance in your everyday life, you know."

Kaname's amusement heightened, his smile that had been playing on his lips for a while now widened. "Is that so?"

"It's only natural." Zero replied with a shrug.

Another chuckle left the pureblood. "It's nice to know both you and Ichiru-kun are willing to go to such lengths just for the sake of my well-being."

"Don't tell Ichiru though. He's not ready to face it yet."

"Is he in denial as well?" Kaname asked, his amusement only continuing to grow.

"He hasn't realized we contribute to your mental wellness just yet, so no, he isn't. But he sure will be when he finds out." 

Kaname hummed thoughtfully. "Now I'm half tempted to tell him."

Zero narrowed his eyes with playful reprimand. Chuckling, Kaname didn't wait long to add, "Alright, you have my word. I won't tell."

"You sure as hell better not. Remember it's in _your_ best interests." Zero mock threatened in a light-hearted manner. 

Kaname's smile softened. "I will make sure to keep that in mind."

Zero gave a satisfied nod. "Good." His expression softened then, amusement surrendering its place on the hunter's face to relief.

Blinking, Kaname tilted his head slightly to the side, a small frown momentarily crossing his features.

Apparently, Zero noticed the pureblood's wonder at the change in his expression, because he spoke again after only a short while of comfortable silence. "Looks like the bullying strategy works on you too. You do seem to be in higher spirits now." He paused, a mischievous grin slowly stretched his lips. "Which means that you _are_ a total masochist."

Kaname's brows rose. He regarded Zero quietly for a few moments before letting out a short, amused laugh. "You have no intention of letting it go, do you?"   

"I'm having too much fun with it." Zero replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Plus it seems pretty effective. Would be a pity to give it up just yet."

"…Am I correct to assume that I'm your test subject in this?"   

"You and Ichiru both." 

A dark eyebrow arched in obvious amusement. "You actually had the heart to do such a thing to him?"

Zero frowned. "You make it sound as though I did something terrible to him."

"Not at all. Personally, I would have loved to see Ichiru-kun's reaction." And he meant it. He really did. 

Which Zero knew. "Oh, you would have enjoyed it too. Who could have thought riling Ichiru up would be so much fun."

Kaname chuckled. "Who could have thought _you_ of all people would ever decide to practice that."

"Hey, I have that right." Zero reasoned with a small pout, his arms crossed over his chest.

"…That 'right'?"

"As his older brother. Surely you don't think Ichiru would let anyone but me bully him?"

"Oh, I have no doubt he wouldn't. That privilege is solely yours to abuse." Kaname said with yet another chuckle and a permanent by now smile on his lips.

Zero nodded his approval. "Good thing you understand that."

Kaname's expression turned positively mischievous when he asked next, "Why, you're worried I would dare challenge that sacred right of yours and try teasing Ichiru-kun as well?" 

One unimpressed silver eyebrow rose. There was a short pause before Zero let out a hearty chuckle and shook his head with an indulgent smile on his face. It got only wider, clearly amused, when the hunter looked up and locked gazes with Kaname anew. "Yeah, right. Try and risk it, you know as well as I do I would be the least of your problems then. _And_ keep it in mind that I might not come to your rescue right away."

Kaname feigned hurt. "It makes me sad how little faith you have in me."

"Don't take it to heart. It's not about having faith, it's about being realistic." Zero stated matter-of-factly with a shrug. 

"So I'm a hopeless case?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that, but I do think you shouldn't try your luck at bullying contests against Ichiru." 

"…Is it irrational that I somehow feel inferior hearing that?"

Zero gave a small laugh. "Don't beat yourself up too much. No one is perfect." 

"I have to be though."

"Says who?"

"My heritage, for one." 

Blinking, the silver-haired teen tilted his head to the side. "Never took you for one to care about such a thing."

Kaname's brows drew together in a chagrined scowl. "I do try not to, but it seems to be ingrained in my psyche, loath as I am to admit it." 

"Oh, well," Zero started with a shrug, "it's not like you can help it, so don't be so hard on yourself." When the pureblood pressed his lips together with his frown still in place, Zero couldn't help giving another amused chuckle before adding playfully, "I promise not to tell anyone about that great flaw of yours, if that makes you feel any better."

"…You're totally making fun of me right now, aren't you?" Kaname accused with a frown bordering on a pout. "And what happened to trying to comfort me?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing."

"No." This time an outright pout did make it to the pureblood's face, which did nothing to lessen Zero's mirth. "You're just bullying me because you can for the sheer fun of it."  

Zero let out a soft, amused laugh. "Alright, alright." He conceded, reaching up to pat the pureblood's head once more, his hand gently stroking impossibly silky chocolate locks. 

Despite himself, Kaname froze. Again, his pulse raced as his stupid heart started its vigorous hammering against his ribcage after a momentary stop. 

A breathless silence settled over the room, lasting for some while as the two stood there, their gazes locked on each other.

Kaname had no idea how much time had passed and how on earth it had come to it, but before he knew it his fingers were closing around Zero's wrist, his thumb rubbing over the temptingly thin, ivory skin there, unconsciously feeling for the slowly quickening pulse right under the surface and secretly enjoying its beautiful hum for a few sweet moments, before he guided the teen's hand to his cheek and leaned into it, closing his eyes as he nuzzled the palm with a long sigh of contentment.   

_The beats got faster. They were calling to him, tempting him. They were impossible to resist._

_So Kaname gave in._

He lowered his head until his lips brushed against Zero's wrist, pressing into it ever so lightly in the briefest, softest kiss. 

_There was a sharp intake of breath that went ignored by the pureblood. The pulse quickened again._

Kaname couldn't help planting another butterfly kiss on the sinfully tempting skin. 

_He could feel it, the pulsation, so palpable on his lips, its beautiful rhythm music to his ears, its strong beat a treat for his senses._

_His throat went dry, burning. He could feel his throbbing fangs lengthening. His heart raced with excitement. He knew he needed to stop. The sooner the better._

_But he couldn't. Not yet. Just a bit more. Just a little bit more…_

A pink tongue snuck out to get a small taste of the skin beneath Kaname's lips. Then again, lingering a little longer, pressing just a little bit harder. 

At that exact moment, that delicious piece of flesh tried to escape. Of course, Kaname didn't let it, he only tightened his grip on it and brought it back to where he wanted it. He was about to continue where he had left off, but the source of that heavenly scent, of that tantalizing heartbeat, made another attempt to get away, this time with more persistence and a voice accompanying it. The voice wasn't very clear, but it seemed familiar. It didn't keep him distracted for long though. 

Growling, Kaname stopped the retreat of his little prey's limb once again. A soft, contented sigh left him when the said prey complied without further resistance.

 _Those sweet heartbeats got faster yet again. He could hear them. He could_ feel _them. They were right under his lips and fingertips, so lively and alluring. Kaname simply_ had to _sneak another taste, had to feel that delicious skin under his tongue._

That voice reached him again, now louder and clearer — enough for Kaname to detect traces of panic and anxiety in it. He still couldn't quite make out what it was saying though, which put him dangerously close to simply ignoring it. But much as he wanted to do just that, much as his instincts urged him to do so, something else somewhere in the back of his mind made him stop and listen a bit harder.

That voice made it through the heartbeats once more, and it was only then that Kaname realized just _how_ painfully familiar it was, how wonderful. 

_He knew it. He enjoyed hearing it. He especially loved the way it called his name. However..._

A frown creased Kaname's brow as he dazedly blinked his eyes half open. 

 _There was something not quite right about it now. There was distress in it that didn't belong there, and Kaname_ had to _make it right._

Thick dark eyelashes fluttered open to fully reveal burning blood-red orbs as the pureblood looked up, his attention immediately latching onto a pair of wide lavender eyes. A sharp intake of breath reached his ears then. 

Kaname blinked drowsily, the crease between his eyebrows deepened briefly as he tried to grasp the situation. A few more seconds ticked by before realization struck him, quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of mortifying shame mixed with horror. He went rigid, his eyes widened. 

 _What exactly had he done? What had he been_ about _to do...?_

Kaname let go of Zero's wrist and moved away, intending to put as much distance between them as was physically possible. Before he could do so, however, he was stopped by the same hand he had just released, and he didn't dare try to escape. 

Involuntarily tensing further, Kaname cast his gaze downwards, unable to look Zero in the eye. A heavy silence filled the room. To the pureblood, everything seemed to have stilled, save for his unruly heart that was currently abusing his ribcage from the inside and all but deafening his ears with its erratic beating. It went on for some while, until all of a sudden…

_A soft call of his name, a warm touch on his cheek …_

Kaname's breath caught in his throat.

"Kaname…?"

Zero's hand gently guided Kaname's head up. A defeated sigh left the younger teen when the pureblood refused to lift his gaze. 

"Kaname?" Zero tried again, his hand still cupping the other's cheek, his thumb rubbing it lightly. "Come on, don't do this. It's _okay_."  

A few more seconds of resistance was all the pureblood could manage before he caved in and met the younger teen's gaze. 

Zero involuntarily drew another sharp breath. Then everything stilled and silence returned.

Transfixed, Zero observed the burning hues before him, fascinated by their beautiful deep color and its slow, almost hypnotizing dance. It was a wonder how different they seemed from those of Ichiru or other vampires he had seen in their bloodlust. Kaname's were more intense, more compelling, more…dangerous in their enthralling beauty. Zero had always liked them this way and he honestly didn't understand why Kaname was so hellbent on hiding them whenever they got like this. 

Unable to help himself, Zero reached up and gently brushed a few stray bangs away from the pureblood's glowing eyes. A soft smile graced his face. 

Kaname exhaled shakily, barely able to breathe as his rapidly quickening heart started its persistent pounding against his chest all over again, unable to speak or do anything other than just stand there, anxious yet thrilled. 

Zero's attention turned lower then, stopping at Kaname's mouth. His hand followed his gaze, his fingers touched the slightly parted lips ever so gently, almost imperceptibly, before gingerly pushing the upper one a bit higher to briefly reveal one of the lengthened fangs further. As he had thought, Kaname's did look sharper and somewhat larger than those of other vampires. He wondered vaguely whether it had something to do with the brunet's pureblood status but promptly dismissed the thought with a mental shrug in favor of continuing his observation. 

Zero's thumb shifted to the side, slowly tracing Kaname's lower lip from one corner to another, about to move up and nudge the upper lip slightly upwards once more to take another look at the pureblood's fangs, when Kaname suddenly grabbed his hand and guided it only a couple of inches away from his face. 

Blinking, lavender eyes looked up, widening the moment they collided with glowing crimson ones. 

Zero froze, his breath hitched. It was only then that he realized just how much the distance between them had been reduced. He could feel Kaname's breath on his skin, the heat radiating from his body, he could see every shade of deep red the other's eyes changed to, every small detail of his face. 

Zero's heart fluttered before racing uncontrollably, his mind went completely blank.

_Those mesmerizing eyes got even closer, their eyelids lowering a bit. The fingers of his captured hand involuntarily curled, partially seizing those of the pureblood. Kaname's other hand escaped his loose hold and slowly started making its way up along the length of Zero's arm and shoulder, slowing down at his neck and then settling on the side of his face. The touch, delicate yet scorching, sent involuntary shivers down the hunter's spine._

A moment of breathless stillness passed. Then… 

_Somehow the remaining distance between them disappeared and another touch of a different kind came. It was a mere brush lasting for no longer than a second, just as delicate yet even more scorching than the previous one._

A tiny gasp fell from Zero's tingling lips, his pulse quickened further. 

_Just now, that was…_

_'A ki-'_

_The sensation of Kaname's lips on his returned before Zero could finish the thought. The gentle touch lasted a bit longer and seemed even more scorching this time around. Before Zero could fully grasp the situation, he was responding tentatively, his lips pushing up against Kaname's ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly._

Twin gasps sounded when the two parted once more. The distance between them was still barely existent, about to disappear again, when…

A gunshot sounded. Then another one. Then two more, each following closely one after another, each seeming deafeningly loud in complete silence of the night.

Zero froze, his eyes went wide with shock and slowly growing fear at the first thought that had crossed his mind upon hearing the sounds. 

_'Ichiru…!'_

Knowing all too well what was causing Zero's distress, Kaname hurried to calm him down, uttering quietly, "I don't smell his blood. He should be alright." 

Immediately, a look of relief crossed Zero's features.

Releasing the teen from his hold, Kaname took a few steps back. "I will go see what is going on."

Zero opened his mouth to ask the pureblood to bring him along, but Kaname disappeared before he could say anything. Realizing only then that he couldn't go outside the way he was now, the silver-haired teen cursed softly under his breath and hurried to his room to get properly dressed before heading out in the cold.

It wouldn't be until only after this new incident had been dealt with that the events that had just transpired between him and Kaname would have a chance to fully sink into Zero's mind.


	31. Raging Skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** And I'm here again *waves* Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I hoped to update within a month after posting the last chapter, but I got terribly lazy due to my depression born mainly of tiredness, and thus the result. But hey, at least I'm only a little over a month late instead of half a year — and we all know the latter is very probable in my case xD _
> 
> _But anyway, here is the new chapter._
> 
> _Thank you all for the kudos and of course, for all your wonderful comments! They really were a humongous source of motivation and inspiration and a true delight to read *nods* You lovelies are the best! *hugs everyone*_
> 
> _And you already know the drill. Disclaimer, warnings and so on remain the same. All mistakes are still mine._
> 
> _Hope you will enjoy reading! :D_

Ichiru heaved an annoyed sigh before quickening his pace and lengthening his strides. Takuma didn't wait long to do the same and shortened the distance between Ichiru and himself in mere seconds. Another sigh came from the silver-haired teen, this one heavier and even more exasperated than the previous one. 

A few meters farther ahead Ichiru reached his limit. Halting in his tracks, he turned sharply to face the blond vampire behind him. "Will you stop it and go away already? I don't need a freaking watchdog to get to my own damn home."

Takuma raised his hands in a calming gesture. "I don't doubt your capability, Ichiru-kun," he said with his usual sunny smile in place. "But you see, I have Kaname's orders to follow, so…" 

Ichiru arched a skeptical eyebrow. "…I thought harassing me was Aidou's duty."

Takuma gave a small laugh. "I'm afraid he is still too traumatized to go near you, so you're stuck with me for now. Sorry." 

Ichiru tsked, not bothering to conceal his displeasure. It wasn't that he hated the noble, the guy was just…difficult to handle with his overly sunshiny demeanor. It had always creeped Ichiru out — it still did even now. Not to mention that it made it pretty much impossible to get a rise out of the annoyingly happy idiot.

…Now that Ichiru thought about it, the guy reminded him of Cross a little. Only he wasn't as hyper and unreasonable. _Thank_ _God_. Honestly, one Cross Kaien was more than enough. 

Sure, it wasn't like Ichiru was particularly fond of Aidou either, but the shorter blond was _at least_ somewhat useful. He was easy to poke fun at and he always fell for each and every one of Ichiru's tricks — numerous times, too. That, and he was easy to read, which certainly couldn't be said about Ichijou. His type was the hardest to deal with in Ichiru's book. 

The silver-haired teen gave a snort of annoyance. "Honestly, don't you have anything better to do? It's not like I'm going to rat you out to Kuran, so just go and do whatever you want."

Takuma remained unfazed, only blinking innocently and continuing to smile brightly. Ichiru had to wonder whether the guy had some kind of immunity against open hostility or if he was just _that_ dense. Then again, there was a possibility of him being an exceptionally good actor, but Ichiru honestly doubted that was the case. 

"But I'm perfectly content where I am," Takuma replied. "Thank you for your kind consideration though, Ichiru-kun. I really appreciate it." He finished with his ever wide, nearly blinding smile. 

Ichiru gave the noble a long look — a _very_ long look that clearly said he had a lot on his mind to offer in response. Uncharacteristically, though, the younger teen chose not to voice his thoughts and simply turned away and continued on his way with an impossibly heavy sigh. He could feel Ichijou's questioning — genuinely so, too, to Ichiru's deepening frustration — gaze on him, but he determinedly ignored it for the sake of his own mental health. It was just not worth it. He knew arguing with the sunshiny idiot would only tire him out. Even their little exchange had somehow managed to do that already, and they hadn't even gotten to the arguing part yet. 

Ichiru shot a brief glance over his shoulder, confirming Ichijou's presence only a few steps behind him. As expected, his overly happy expression was still there on his face. Somehow Ichiru felt himself grow tired simply looking at it. 

Another sigh left the silver-haired teen, this one brief and of reluctant resignation. It was just his luck to get stuck with the most troublesome of them all. And if that wasn't frustrating enough already…

_'Dammit,'_ Ichiru internally cursed, gritting his teeth. _'Just what I need right now. More pests.'_  

Who could have thought there would come a day when he would actually _sort of_ miss Aidou. 

"Well, if it isn't our precious prisoner. What a _pleasant_ coincidence to come across you here at _this_ time. Are you out for your 'morning' walk, Kiryuu Ichiru?"

_'Coincidence, my ass,'_ Ichiru thought, scowling. Did that stupid hunter actually believe he hadn't realized he had been followed since the moment he had made it past the Moon Dorms gates? Now that was plain insulting. Or just unreasonably — and stupidly — arrogant of the annoying redhead.   

Ichiru's eyes narrowed as he gave his verbal response. "That's none of your freaking business, you creep. Get the hell lost and stop stalking me before my patience runs out." 

The redhead gave a derisive snort. "Geez, I've heard you Kiryuus are conceited, but I never imagined it's _that_ bad. Accusing people of stalking out of the blue and then even threatening them just like that…" He shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "I surely hope it's not a familial trait but just an unfortunate result of your being spoiled by your foolish brother."

Lilac eyes widened for a moment before narrowing with contempt, the temperature around Ichiru dropped a few degrees. Takuma couldn't help discreetly taking a cautious step back in response to the sudden change. 

"What did you just say?" The tone of Ichiru's voice sent involuntary shivers down Takuma's spine. He took another step away from the silver-haired teen, baffled by his own body's unconscious reactions yet unable to do anything about them. He looked at the two hunters whose names he didn't know only to find them completely unaffected. A puzzled frown creased his brow. He couldn't be imagining it, right? Or was he really the only one sensing — almost seeing it, actually — Ichiru's aura suddenly grow darker and thicker before it started slowly slithering its way towards the two newcomers…?   

The red-haired man let out a short whistle. "Wow, it _is_ true what they say. You do have one hell of a brother complex there." He gave another snort of unconcealed derision. "Or am I totally misunderstanding something and there is another reason you look like you want to punch me in the face?"

"You're not misunderstanding anything. Though that's not the only reason I want to beat you to a bloody pulp."

There was a barking laugh. "Ooh, how scary. But is it okay to talk to me like that? Don't forget that we were sent here to keep watch on you." The redhead's eyes narrowed, a mocking smirk stretched his lips. "One wrong move, and you're back in your cage, right where a rabid dog like you belongs. So you better remember your place and watch your smart mouth, Kiryuu Ichiru."  

"Sempai, stop it," a raven-haired hunter that was the redhead's partner spoke for the first time since the two's appearance. Takuma could tell the tense atmosphere was getting to the younger man as well, although it didn't seem to affect him as strongly as it was affecting the noble. "You're going overbo-"

"Oh, no, let him speak." Ichiru interrupted the raven-haired hunter, never taking his eyes off the redhead. "He clearly has _a lot_ to say, and I don't mind having an excuse for ripping his head off."

Takuma's emerald eyes went wide with alarm. He knew Ichiru was serious. He _could_ tell. "I-Ichiru-kun-"

"You impudent brat." The redhead hissed through gritted teeth, all signs of amusement gone from his face. "Someone _really_ should teach you a few lessons and fix the shitty job your family did raising you."

A silver eyebrow arched mockingly. "And that someone is _you_?" Ichiru snorted scornfully. "Oh, please. You don't seriously believe that _you_ can take _me_ on and actually win, do you?"

The red-haired hunter gritted his teeth angrily. "Watch it, leech. Yagari and Kaito may have been easy on you all this time, but I'm not them. I _will_ put a bullet through your arrogant skull."

"No, _you_ watch it, asshole. I don't give a damn if you were sent here by the Association President himself. You have no right to come to _my_ home and threaten me like that. Yet here you are behaving like you own the freaking place. Aren't you overstepping your bounds a bit too much?"

"I wouldn't have had to come here if you traitors had at least _some_ hunter honor left in you and did the right thing."

"Which is?" Ichiru prompted with a raised eyebrow.  

"Turn yourself in to the Association and accept the inevitable."

"…In other words, just get executed quietly."

"Exactly."

Ichiru let out a mirthless laugh. "You _cannot_ seriously believe I might even consider entertaining such an absurd idea. Despite all the bullshit some hunters like to spout about me, my mind is intact, thank you very much."

The redhead huffed. "Like you would ever say otherwise."

"Like it's any of your business."

"It is when you're a danger to people around you."

His arms crossed over his chest, Ichiru tilted his head slightly to the side and asked mockingly, "And _you_ say that I am based on _what_ exactly?" 

"On the fact that you nearly killed your own _'precious'_ brother with your bloodlust." Ichiru's expression hardened at the mention of that incident. He already hated himself for what he had done, and nothing would ever ease his guilt over it — not even Zero's words of comfort. He didn't need some stupid hunter he didn't even know — and one who knew nothing about _him_ at that — to rub it in further. Yet the asshole kept on yapping. "So no matter how hard you try to deny it, you're no better than any other blood-crazed Level E scum."

His jaw tightening, Ichiru all but hissed out his next reply. "And you seem to be awfully eager to get your neck snapped by that 'blood-crazed Level E scum'."

The red-haired hunter let out another snort and tilted his head back haughtily, his expression now condescending. "Go ahead and try. I'll gladly finish you off and put your poor brother out of his misery. God knows, he must be _desperate_ to get rid of a _burden_ like _you_." 

Ichiru growled. Those words had certainly hit a nerve. He had thought of himself that way since childhood, after all, and it hadn't really changed to this day. Sure, his health had long improved and he had gotten much stronger. Not to mention that he knew all too well that Zero had never considered — and would _never_ consider — him a 'burden' even for a moment. Yet the sense of inferiority wouldn't leave him no matter how much time passed, so it still remained a sore subject for him. It probably always would. 

"You _really_ need to start practicing _thinking_ before you run your mouth, lest it gets you in some _serious_ trouble, _hunter_." Ichiru warned menacingly, his narrowed lilac eyes flashing crimson, his fingers flexing briefly. Takuma went rigid with apprehension as he watched Ichiru's form grow tense ever so slowly, almost imperceptibly — _dangerously so_. 

Swiftly, the redhead took his gun out of its holster and pointed it at Ichiru, his expression grim with no traces of mockery left there. The second hunter's hand inched towards his weapon as well, but he decided not to draw it just yet. 

Ichiru let out a dark chuckle that sent involuntary shivers down Takuma's spine. The noble could sense the darkness surrounding the silver-haired teen getting thicker, could feel his cold aura spreading further like predatory limbs extending towards their intended prey. 

_"Oh, how charming. You honestly believe_ that _can stop me…?"_ Ichiru asked mockingly, his low voice smooth and beguiling, a wide smirk playing on his lips. _"I'm not your average Level E, so you'll have to do better than that,_ hunter _."_

"Se-sempai, that's enough. Let's just leave already." The younger hunter urged as he gingerly stepped closer to his senior colleague and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

_"Yes, 'sempai', listen to your partner there."_ Ichiru's voice sounded again, full of unconcealed mockery. _"It will do you no good to anger someone you can't even take on."_

"Shut up," the redhead hissed, shrugging the younger man's hand off. 

The raven-haired hunter frowned, taken aback by the sheer hostility emanating off the other in waves. "Sempai…?"

Ichiru's smirk widened. _"What's the matter, did I hurt your over-inflated hunter pride?"_

"I said shut your mouth!" The red-haired hunter exclaimed as he cocked his gun and squeezed its handle. Something was off. He was feeling weird for some reason. His breathing started to quicken, his pulse raced, and every muscle in his body tensed. 

Ichiru gave a scornful snort. _"You're just dying to do it, aren't you? Well, go ahead, don't get shy on me all of a sudden."_

The older hunter's trigger finger jerked ever so slightly, but it wasn't enough to fire a shot.  

_"Come on, it's easy. You only need to adjust your hold… Take aim…"_

For reasons unknown to him, the red-haired hunter found himself actually doing it. He found his body following these… _instructions_ Ichiru was giving him.  

_"…And then just…"_

The very last part sounded unclear, mixed with terrible ringing that assaulted his ears all of a sudden. He didn't really get to catch its end. However… 

_For a moment, everything around and within him froze and he felt as though he had been depraved of all his senses. He couldn't tell where he was and what was going on anymore. Everything turned black for a second, and then, when everything finally got back to normal…_

He was firing his gun at Kiryuu Ichiru who was swiftly dodging every bullet and quickly closing in on him with one of his clawed hands raised and opened and ready to attack. Before too long, the silver-haired teen was right in front of him, his face mere inches away from the muzzle of his gun.  

_That was it._

He pulled the trigger again, this time willingly and with a clear intention in mind. 

Unfortunately for him, however, only a split second before he had taken his final shot, his arm was grabbed and pushed up, which made him miss yet again. Having lost his balance, the redhead was forced to step back a few paces. It took him a moment to recover and grasp the situation, and when everything had sunk in, his eyes narrowed as he glared hatefully at the broad back of one Takamiya Kaito who now held Ichiru pinned to a nearby tree after suddenly joining them but a few seconds ago. The redhead opened his mouth to voice his displeasure with the other, but he didn't even make it past Kaito's name, as the said man spoke first, although not to him.  

"What _the fuck_ do you think you're _doing_ , Ichiru?!" Kaito hissed menacingly, his eyes narrowed to slits, an angry scowl set firmly on his face. "Are you fucking _trying_ to get your stupid ass thrown back into the cage?!"

Ichiru remained calm in the face of Kaito's anger. His eyes having returned to their original lilac color, his fangs and claws having retreated by now, he arched an unimpressed eyebrow and answered.  "I'm not doing _anything_ , Kaito. On the contrary, _he_ is the one who started firing shots at an _unarmed_ person. I was merely trying to _protect_ myself."

That made the red-haired hunter react. "Bullshit! You provoked me!"

"Oh, _really_?" Ichiru's mouth stretched into a smirk, the look on his face all but screamed mockery when he turned his attention to his opponent. "And how on earth did I do _that_?"

"You goaded me on!" The redhead accused, scowling.

Ichiru gave a short laugh. "Oh, that's just priceless! Is that the best excuse you managed to come up with to justify your inability to control your own murderous urges?"

"What did you say, you prick?!"

"I said you're a bloodthirsty bastard trying to cover up his lying ass."

"Ha! That's rich coming from a rabid leech!"

"On the contrary, _I_ am perfectly stable, whereas _you_ have some serious anger management issues." Ichiru scoffed. "Honestly, what normal person goes shooting people _for no reason_?"

The redhead's scowl darkened as he growled out his reply. "I said I had one! _You_ provoked me!" 

One silver eyebrow rose. "That's very interesting. I wonder why it slipped my mind then."

"Stop spouting your crap! We have witnesses here!" The red-haired hunter turned to his partner then. "Tell him! Tell Takamiya what really happened!"

"Um, b-but…"

"Tell him, dammit!"

"B-but sempai, he-" The raven-haired hunter shifted his gaze from the redhead to Kaito and then back, hesitant. "Um, he…"

"He _what_?" Kaito prompted impatiently. 

" _…He didn't say anything…_ "

The statement was followed by a stunned silence.

"Wha-" The red-haired hunter started after recovering from his shock. "What _the fuck_ are y-"

"What is going on here?" 

Everyone's attention turned to a new presence — the most powerful one — that had unexpectedly joined them.

All traces of mocking amusement that had previously been there left Ichiru's face, his expression grew cold. The redhead clicked his tongue in obvious annoyance, whereas Takuma breathed a sigh of relief.

"It doesn't concern you, Kuran." Kaito said as he looked at the pureblood over his shoulder. "Stay out of this."

"I beg to differ, Takamiya-kun. This academy is my territory, and Ichiru-kun is under _my_ protection. Surely you understand what that means." Kaname shifted his gaze to the red-haired hunter then, his eyes narrowed and his tone turned stern when he continued. "Surely you _all_ do." 

"I don't take orders from _you_ , vampire." The redhead hissed out his reply.

"I don't expect you to. However, I do expect that you behave reasonably and _refrain_ from causing any unnecessary disturbances."

"If there's anyone causing 'unnecessary disturbances', it's your pet over there." The hunter shot back, nodding his head in Ichiru's direction.

Ichiru glowered at the redhead. "Watch it, asshole."

"Or _what_?"

Lilac eyes narrowed, surrendering their original color to bright red for a brief moment. "Or Kaito won't be enough to protect you."

"Ichiru," Kaito warned sternly, pressing Ichiru further against the tree, "shut up. Don't make it worse."

The redhead gave a short barked laugh. "Oh, no, let him do it! Let that monster show his true nature!" 

" _You_ shut it too, dammit!" Kaito snapped at the red-haired idiot who was beginning to _seriously_ grate on his nerves. "Or _I_ will do it _for_ you." He added with a menacing glare when he saw the man open his mouth to say something back. To Kaito's growing annoyance, however, his warning wasn't heeded.

"Don't y-"

"Ichiru!" Zero's voice reached the group, and very soon so did its owner. 

Almost immediately, Kaito relaxed and loosened his hold on Ichiru, relieved to have Zero there. If anyone could contain Ichiru, it was his twin. 

"Ichiru, are you okay?" Zero asked worriedly as he approached Kaito and Ichiru, the ash brown-haired hunter immediately moved out of the way and released the younger twin altogether while Zero quickly looked his counterpart over. "What happened?"

Ichiru gave his brother a small smile before replying in a soft, gentle tone, "I'm fine, nii-san, you don't need to worry." When there was no response and Zero only continued looking at him expectantly, Ichiru added, "I really am okay. And nothing happened, everything is alright."

"Like hell it is!" The red-haired hunter butted in before Zero could say anything further. "The President will hear of this night, and after that you can kiss your happy life goodbye, Kiryuu Ichiru. You _will be_ put down."

One pair of amethyst eyes widened in horror. "W-wait, what?" Zero asked as he turned his apprehensive gaze to the redhead, his hand automatically rising to grab Ichiru's jacket sleeve. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to him, nii-san, he's delusional."

"And you're even dumber than I thought if you actually think you will be able to snake your way out of this."

Ichiru arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the red-haired hunter. "Out of _what_ , exactly? _You_ emptied your freaking gun at me. All _I_ was trying to do is defend myself." A condescending frown formed on his face. "On what planet does a victim get punished for acting in self-defense?" 

"You're no victim," the redhead growled through gritted teeth. "You're a predator, and everybody knows that, including your oh-so-precious brother." He shifted his gaze to Zero when the older twin pulled his counterpart closer and then stepped in front of him, shielding him. The redhead's eyes narrowed when he continued, "Who is probably an even bigger disgrace than his bloodsucking twin. Aren't you even the slightest bit ashamed of yourself, Kiryuu Zero?" He cast Ichiru a brief glance. "Of _him_?"

Zero's eyes narrowed coldly. "Why should I be?" 

The red-haired man scowled, distaste apparent on his face. "…You two really do deserve each other. No wonder they think you offed your own parents."

The last statement made everyone's eyes widen in shock. A stunned silence fell over the group. 

Zero's fingers automatically tightened around Ichiru's arm, the rest of his body completely frozen. Ichiru, on the other hand, was a different case altogether. 

" _I'll fucking kill you_." The younger twin hissed angrily at the redhead, his aura raging and his expression purely murderous. Before he could make good on his threat, however, Zero managed to recover from his shock in time to stop Ichiru from going anywhere near the red-haired hunter. Although it didn't stop the younger of the two from struggling against his brother's hold. 

Smirking, the redhead reached out a hand towards his raven-haired partner and took the younger hunter's gun out of the holster before pointing it at Ichiru without a moment's hesitation, his movements quick and smooth. "Go ahead and try. _Again_." He challenged, already taking the safety catch off with his thumb. "This time I promise I won't mi-" He didn't get to finish, however, courtesy of an unexpected punch thrown at him by one furious Kaito. 

Having lost his balance, the redhead stumbled a few paces back and cradled his now throbbing cheek with his free hand. He looked up, about to say something, when Kaito grabbed his collar, spun him around and roughly pushed him against a tree, much like the man had done with Ichiru only a few minutes ago. Then, before his opponent could recover, Kaito swiftly confiscated the gun in the other's hand and tossed it back to its rightful owner who somehow managed to react in time to catch it and not get hit by it in the head.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Takamiya?!" The redhead hollered, furious. 

" _Shut. Up._ " Kaito ground out through clenched teeth. "Just shut the hell up. You've said _more_ than enough already." 

"And I _still_ have _more_ to say." The redhead replied in the same manner as Kaito. 

"No, you _don't_. And we'll leave it at that." Not waiting to hear the other's response, Kaito turned to the Kiryuu twins. "Zero, it's late. Get Ichiru away from here and make sure he stays indoors."

For once, the twins didn't argue with him. Zero only gave a silent nod after a brief hesitation and then led Ichiru away — although the latter still had put up a bit of a struggle at first. 

"Takuma, go with them." Kaname ordered.

The noble gave a nod and turned to go after the twins, but not before asking his pureblood friend a question, "What about you?" 

"I will follow shortly."  

"Understood." And Takuma left. 

A long silence ensued.

It was Kaito who broke it after some while when he addressed Kaname, "You can go back to your lair, too, Kuran. I got this."

"I don't doubt it, Takamiya-kun. But I still would like to make sure we won't have to deal with this kind of situation a second time." 

"We won't. I'll make sure he stays away from Ichiru. And if he _doesn't_ ," Kaito's eyes narrowed in warning, "I'm sure _Cross_ will gladly do us all a favor by removing him from the premises." 

"Cross?" The redhead scoffed. " _Please_ , Takamiya, is that the best you can do? That man can't afford to go against the President this time. The Kiryuu brat's freedom depends on it. You know it as well as I do."

"That's-"

"Irrelevant," Kaname interrupted before Kaito could finish, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "Because _I_ can. And I _will_ , if you so much as even try to get to either of the twins like that again."

The redhead's face twisted into a hateful scowl. "Don't you go bossing me around, _pureblood_. I'm not one of your slaves to blindly do your bidding."   

"…You also seem to be forgetting something, so allow me to remind you, _hunter_." Kaname's garnet eyes narrowed, his expression darkened. "Unlike Cross and Takamiya-kun, I have no obligation to comply with the Hunter Association's whims, and the fact that I currently reside at this academy doesn't change it. Make no mistake, if you cause another disturbance during your stay here, I _will_ deal with you the way that _I_ see fit, and not even the Association President will be able to stop me. So I strongly suggest you tread carefully…for _your_ own good."

A long, heavy silence followed. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Kaname spoke again some while later, "I have other matters to attend to. Have a good night." He gave the three hunters a courtesy nod and took his leave, his form vanishing from sight altogether after only a few moments.

**-o-**

A couple of hours after the incident, Zero and Ichiru were still in the latter's temporary room in the Moon Dormitory. Sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard, Zero let his hand absently stroke the silver hair of his younger counterpart whose head was cradled in his lap as Ichiru was lying there on his side. It was quiet, almost serene. But that atmosphere got disrupted the moment the younger of the two spoke.

"...You shouldn't have stopped me, nii-san," Ichiru said without looking up at his twin. "That asshat was asking for it." 

Zero breathed a long sigh, his gaze shifted to Ichiru, his hand slowly ceased its movements. "I know," Zero replied, studying his other half's familiar profile absently. "But it doesn't mean you have to respond to that. It will only make things worse." 

Ichiru scowled. "I don't care."

"I do."

"You shouldn't either."

"And how is that possible?"

"How is it _not_?" Ichiru demanded with a deep frown as he turned his head to meet Zero's gaze.

Zero let out a sigh at the familiar stubborn expression directed at him. He could already tell he was entering a losing battle. Still, he had to at least try to reason with his twin, for both their sakes. "You know what they will do if they think they have probable reason."

Ichiru raised an eyebrow. "You mean if they find an excuse. Which they _are_ trying to do, in case you haven't noticed."

Of course Zero had. They both knew what the Association was trying to do. Only Zero preferred not to admit it out loud. If he did, it would make their reality that much scarier. 

Ichiru turned his head away and assumed his previous position anew. A tired sigh left him. 

Another while of silence passed. Once again, it was Ichiru who interrupted it. 

"I was no longer 'one of them' the moment I got bitten." He started, his eyes took on a faraway look as he thought back to the time in the past so long gone and so different from his present it almost felt like something from another life. "...No, even before that..." Ichiru added in a small voice, unconsciously curling into himself and gripping Zero's thigh a bit tighter. Lilac eyes cleared after another few moments of silence. Ichiru gave a mirthless chuckle before looking up at his counterpart and continuing, "They've been trying to get rid of me for so long, nii-san. Don't you think it's pretty pointless to try to convince them they're wrong now?"

Zero felt his chest constrict at the pained — even if Ichiru more than likely was trying to deny and crush down the emotion — look on his younger brother's face, at the sadness in his voice. It felt as though they were kids again — small, _vulnerable_... And here he was trying to comfort Ichiru who had been hurt by others' cruel words and disregard _yet again_. The hunters and their attitude towards him had always been a sore subject for Ichiru. Apparently, it still was even after all this time.

Ichiru turned away again, another long sigh falling from his lips. 

"I'm so sick and tired of them. I'm _really_ sick and tired of them, nii-san. I wish I could just- I wish _we_ could just..." Ichiru trailed off, closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly from side to side with a heavy sigh. 

He wished they could just get away from it all, namely from the Hunter Association and its sickening presence following them wherever they went, suffocating and overbearing. Interfering and trying to control them — _him_ , for the most part — was all it had been doing lately, and it had gotten worse after his last nearly fatal loss of control. 

Naturally, he understood why he had to be monitored after that and even why he had to be temporarily separated from his brother. But that wasn't the real reason behind the Association's actions. It didn't care about them, it only used that incident as an excuse to further its own agenda. Ichiru hated it, and he hated the Association's ways. He honestly wanted nothing more than to cut all ties with it and get it completely out of their lives.   

Only he knew it wasn't that simple. Unlike him, Zero wasn't a vampire, _and_ he wanted to be a hunter — it was his heritage that he had always taken with utmost seriousness. He had the desire and more than enough talent to follow in their parents' footsteps, and Ichiru didn't want to stand in the way of that, even if he believed that the Hunter Association as it was now didn't deserve Zero. Or Yagari. Or even Kaito, for that matter. They were too good for such a wretched place with its snake of a President.

Ichiru didn't voice his thoughts, but Zero could tell what was on his other half's mind even without it.

The older teen sighed softly.

"I know," he said, his hand slowly resumed stroking Ichiru's hair. "I know…"

The two lapsed into silence after that, eventually drifting off into a much-needed sleep.

That was the way Kaname found the twins when he came to check on them and remind Zero that the rules he had set for them still applied, even if he had made an exception this one time. 

No response had come after he had knocked on the door, so he had let himself into the room, his eyes immediately finding the two identical forms lying on the bed. 

Kaname gave a long sigh before gently pushing the door closed and soundlessly approaching the bed. He took his time observing the sight in front of him, all the while trying to squash all the uncomfortable, unpleasant feelings it evoked within him. He still hadn't learned how to do it — how _not to_ get affected by such innocent displays of deep closeness.  

The two were sound asleep, curled on their sides. Zero was lying across the pillows, loosely hugging Ichiru's head that was tucked against his chest while the younger twin had one of his arms around his counterpart's waist.

Kaname had half a mind to untangle Zero from Ichiru and carry the older twin back to Cross's where he should be at this hour, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Heaving another sigh, the pureblood circled the bed and approached a large dresser on the opposite side of the room. He pulled open one of the drawers and took a comforter out of it, not forgetting to nudge it shut with his mind on his way back towards the twins. Carefully, he put the retrieved cloth over the two, halting when both teens shifted in their sleep and continuing only after they had settled down. 

He didn't retreat right away and stayed hunched over the two forms for some more time, observing. His hand moved up to stroke Zero's hair, his fingers playing with a few silver strands, their touch gentle, barely perceptible even. Garnet eyes warmed with a soft smile that slowly tugged at the corners of the pureblood's mouth. Unable to help himself, Kaname bent down and planted a light, brief kiss on Zero's head — a spontaneous action he certainly hadn't expected to take but didn't regret in the slightest. He lingered over Zero for a bit longer after that, giving the teen's hair a few more strokes with his thumb before straightening up, retracting his hand and then finally leaving the room.

**-o-**

"I can't shake off the feeling that every time I watch that man, he watches me back," Maria said quietly, hugging herself. "He is dangerous, Shizuka-sama, I can tell even without meeting him in person."

"…He is, dear child," Shizuka confirmed after a few moments of contemplative silence, her gaze fixed on a beautiful view of the moon outside as she stood by the window, her arms folded over her chest. "Far more dangerous than he lets on. That is why he must never be taken lightly."

Another silence followed. 

"Have there been any changes on his end?" The pureblood inquired after some while.

"Not yet, but…" Maria trailed off, a concentrated frown creasing her forehead as she lowered her gaze for a few moments before looking up at her relative's back again. "I think there will be soon. That man is up to something."

Shizuka let out a mirthless chuckle. "That he always is." Half turning to Maria, the woman made her next inquiry, "And my boys?"

That brought a small smile to Maria's lips. "They're home. Together." But her smile weakened slightly when she continued, "The hunters are there too, and it doesn't look good."   

Shizuka averted her gaze back to the window. 

"…I see…" She replied absently, falling silent before eventually requesting, "Keep watching them. All of them." 

Maria nodded. "Of course."  

**-o-**

_There was a pull, a very persistent and highly unpleasant one. Even in his sleep, Kaname immediately strengthened his mental barriers._

_'Aw, don't be like that, Kaname…' A sickeningly familiar voice sounded. 'It's been such a long time. Aren't you happy to hear from your favorite uncle?'_

_Kaname responded with a mental wave of pure hostility, intending to show_ exactly _how 'happy' he was._

_He got a chuckle in response._

_'How cold,' Rido continued after some time. 'It pains me to be treated this way after all the trouble I had to go through to get you your perfect gift, you know.'_

_That compelled Kaname's attention. Unease started creeping up on him._

_'…Gift…?'_

_Kaname could hear a triumphant smirk in Rido's voice when the man spoke next._

_'Yes, a gift. A very special one.' The man seemed almost gleeful, which only worsened Kaname's distress. 'The one I know you want the most but are too shy to get. So I decided to help you, being the generous and caring uncle that I am.'_

_'What on earth are you talking about? What-' Kaname faltered, fast approaching panic mode by now. 'What have you_ done _…?'_

_An excruciatingly long moment of silence passed. Then, at long last, a cryptic reply that marked the end of their brief exchange came._

_'…Why don't you wake up and try to find out for yourself?'_

Garnet eyes turned bright red as they shot wide open. Kaname's body grew impossibly tense, his clawed fingers tore into the mattress of his bed as he let his senses spread as far as they could go with lightning speed. It took Kaname less than a second to realize what was wrong. His blood ran icy cold, a wave of unadulterated dread washed over him as a terrible thought forced its way into his mind.

_They were gone._


	32. Granted Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _ **A/N:** And I'm back again, my dearests *hugs everyone* The world must have turned upside down seeing as I'm here posting another chapter so soon (well, by my standards anyway xD). I think I probably would have done it even sooner, but it took me two weeks to finish that oneshot I posted (which I actually came up with over a year ago yet managed to finish only two weeks ago. Aren't you just_ amazed _at my speed? *snorts sarcastically*) and then another two weeks to write down this new chapter. So all things considered, it actually is a speedy update for me. I only hope it's not too crappy -_-;_  
>  __  
>  _Moving on, I want to express my genuine gratitude to you lovelies for your kindness and patience. Your endless support and positive responses to this story so far have been a huge — and I mean_ really huge _— source of inspiration. So I thank you for your kudos and wonderful comments. You guys are awesome *bows deeply*_
> 
> _Disclaimer stands, warnings and everything else remain. All mistakes are mine, as usual._  
> 
> _Would be really happy to hear your thoughts on this chapter as well. Hope it won't disappoint you too much *sighs*_
> 
> _Please enjoy! :D_

A familiar mop of silver hair was the first thing Zero saw upon waking up.

Immediately, a small smile stretched his lips. His eyes sliding shut, the older teen released a deep sigh of content and hugged his twin tighter before burying his nose into the top of Ichiru's head and inhaling his comforting scent.

He had missed this. Waking up with his counterpart by his side, feeling his presence, his warmth around him…

It felt really nice. And calming.

He hadn't realized just how much he had really missed this until now.

Now fully awake, Zero took a long look around to confirm his suspicions about his current whereabouts. As expected, he was in Ichiru's room in the Moon Dorms. Which, now that Zero's mind was clear enough to think about it, was against the rules — both the school rules and the ones set specifically for him by Kaname himself.

Carefully so as not to disturb his still sleeping twin, Zero untangled himself from Ichiru — which turned out to be nothing short of a feat — and slowly sat up, only then noticing the comforter that had pooled around his waist.

Amethyst eyes blinked. The corners of the teen's mouth lifted in a smile, his expression visibly warmed. It wasn't that difficult to guess who had put that comforter over them, and Zero mentally promised himself to thank Kaname for it later. And for letting him stay with Ichiru, of course.

Silently nodding to himself, Zero got up from the bed and stretched a bit before looking out the window. It was early morning, the first rays of sunshine had just started to sneak through the thick curtains and fill the room. He knew he was probably the only one awake in the entire building at such hours.

Zero's attention returned to Ichiru when the younger teen moved slightly in his sleep, hugging the comforter and almost burying his face into it. Zero stifled an amused chuckle at the undeniably endearing sight his twin presented.

Still careful not to wake his counterpart, Zero leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Ichiru's temple while his hand gently stroked the slightly longer silver hair. Then, just as quietly, Zero left the room and soon the Moon Dormitory building as well without disturbing any of its residents — to his relief.

He returned home after that, but only to go about his usual morning routine and then get ready for a trip he had been meaning to take for quite some time now. So it wasn't long before he departed again, this time leaving not only the academy premises but the town as well, taking a familiar train to a no less familiar — sadly so — location of his parents' final resting place, never even suspecting what this new day had in store for all of them.

**-o-**

They were gone, both of them. Kaname was sure of it — he couldn't feel either of their presences no matter how far he looked.

Cold dread seized his insides, its grip tight and unrelenting. He suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Inwardly, he tried to deceive himself into thinking more positively, tried to convince himself that he was completely and unreasonably overreacting. After all, there _could_ be such a possibility, right? It was morning, and the weekend at that. They could have easily gone somewhere on their own — whether separately or together. Yuuki, for one, liked going into town on the weekends, and she tended to drag at least one of the twins along with her, if not both.

So maybe that was the case this time as well? Maybe Yuuki had gone on a little shopping trip and Zero had decided to accompany her, thus their absence?

Surely that could be it, right? Of course. Normally, Kaname would have no trouble going along with that version. However...

Their current circumstances were hardly 'normal', and the fact that it was Rido who had disturbed his sleep only to convey his cryptic messages did nothing to calm his distressed mind.

He knew Rido had made his move, and he knew that whatever it was, it involved his two most precious people.

Kaname could feel dread within him growing.

He needed to act and he needed to do it _now_.

"Kaname?" Takuma gingerly peeked around the door to the pureblood's room, his expression uncertain, eyebrows drawn into a frown. His bed hair and still slightly drowsy eyes clearly showed he had been deeply and blissfully asleep when Kaname had mentally summoned him. "What's wrong?"

"Gather everyone." Kaname commanded as he finished dressing and walked out of his room to the adjoining study, Takuma following right after, forced into complete awareness by an apparent sense of urgency emanating from his leader. "We need to arrange a search party. Seiren," Kaname looked to the side, and sure enough, there his trusted bodyguard was with her hand over her heart and her head bowed respectfully as she awaited her master's next order. She didn't have to wait long. "Contact all your informants. I need as much intel as I can get. The sooner the better."

"Yes, Kaname-sama." Seiren said with another bow before disappearing from sight to go about her given task, Takuma doing the same after receiving a dismissive nod from Kaname.

**-o-**

Zero was about to head back to the academy after spending some time at the cemetery when all of a sudden, he was approached by a hunter who had apparently been waiting for him at the gates. It was one of those hunters sent by the Association to 'keep an eye on them' — which, in essence, meant 'to spy on them', plain and simple. They all knew why those hunters had really come to the academy, they just didn't say it out loud.

Briefly, Zero couldn't help wondering if the hunter before him — the very quiet and unnoticeable one, the one who obviously preferred to stay in the shadows and out of sight, unlike his two comrades, and the one whose name Zero _still_ hadn't caught even once somehow — had actually followed him. But he promptly dismissed the thought, deeming it unlikely since he wasn't the hunters' primary surveillance target. The man must have been sent to meet him by the Association, which could only mean one thing.

_A mission._

Sure enough, Zero didn't have to wait long to be proven right, as not even a second after giving him a courtesy nod in greeting, the hunter reached into the inner pocket of his long coat and took out a very familiar-looking envelope, which he wordlessly handed to the silver-haired teen and then simply turned around and walked away, never explaining anything or even saying a word.

Zero arched an eyebrow at the other's actions as he followed the man's retreating back with his gaze, but he quickly dismissed the matter with a light shrug of his shoulders and shifted his attention to the envelope in his hand instead. He opened it and read its contents, which fully confirmed his initial guess. It was a mission indeed, and it wasn't that far from the academy, neither was it that difficult that he would need help, so he could take care of it on his way back home.

And thus Zero set off without wasting another minute.

It took him several hours to get to his hunting destination, and first signs of approaching sunset had started to appear by then. An entire day had gone by, he realized with a slight start. Suddenly he really wanted to get this hunt done and over with just to get home sooner, and the place he had arrived at did nothing to change his mind.

It was an abandoned building — nothing new there — on the outskirts of a small town. Like it should, the place gave Zero the creeps. But that wasn't what made the hunter hesitate to go inside. It was the fact that he could sense several Level E presences instead of just one as was supposed to be the case.

Zero heaved a long sigh. He could already tell this mission would take more time than he had initially hoped. Granted, he still could complete it on his own.

So he took out his gun and went inside, and soon enough there was only one Level E left to take down.

Zero knew his last target wasn't far, his guess would be just a couple of floors above him. It probably could sense him, too — more than likely so even. He had to move fast lest the Level E would try to escape. So he headed out of the room he was currently in, down the hallway and then up the stairs, his strides long and careful so as not to make unnecessary noise and scare his target into fleeing.

Although it didn't look like that was going to be a problem, as Zero realized on his way upstairs. The Level E wasn't moving. At all. Which wasn't just weird but also unsettling. Zero knew the other must have sensed him by now, so he should have at least tried to put some distance between them. It was a logical thing to do — the Level E's instincts must be screaming at him to run even now after detecting a hunter presence so close. Yet the turned vampire remained where he was, his aura unchanging — not even a single hint of distress in it.

Unease began to creep over Zero. His body involuntarily tensed up.

Something was off.

Unconsciously, Zero halted on the steps, his eyebrows drawing into a frown, his grip on his gun tightening. He stayed still for a few moments, then resumed walking cautiously. But he stopped in his tracks once more upon reaching his destination floor.

The Level E was there standing right in the middle of the hallway. It was a male, probably only a few years older than Zero himself. He was a good-looking one too, but that was only to be expected — the vampires, especially the purebloods, didn't like them ugly.

The guy still hadn't move. He just kept standing there staring at Zero blankly with dimly burning red eyes.

Zero felt an involuntary chill. The vibes the vampire was giving off, the very air around him…there was just something _very_ wrong about them.

After a moment the Level E's eyes flashed brightly and he blinked, suddenly seeming to gain clarity on his surroundings. The air about him changed slightly too. He smiled. It was a wide, crazed smile that fully revealed his elongated fangs as it slowly stretched his lips.

Zero immediately drew up his gun, but he was a second too late — the Level E had turned around and took off before the hunter could take a shot at him.

Swearing softly under his breath, Zero followed, chasing his target for a few minutes before finally cornering him in one of the many rooms the building housed. If it even could be called 'cornering', because it certainly didn't feel that way to Zero. The Level E's movements were way too precise, too coordinated, and just weren't something a deranged vampire should be capable of making.

The Level E came to a stop in the middle of the room and turned around to face Zero. The hunter immediately took aim, but strangely enough, it didn't seem to affect the vampire in the slightest. The guy didn't even try to get out of the line of fire — he simply stood there, unmoving, staring at his opponent with his wide smile still firmly in place.

Zero's unease grew, but he didn't let it sway him. He pulled the trigger, and the Level E was gone in less than a second, leaving nothing but ashes behind. No final words, no curses, no cries, no attempts to attack his executioner or to at least get him to spare his life, no fear, no despair, no regrets, no nothing. 

It made the single shot fired seem that much louder and the room that much quieter — unnaturally so even — to his ears.

Exhaling a deep sigh, Zero slowly dropped his arm back to his side. It was over. There wasn't a single Level E in the building anymore — his senses confirmed it. He was free to go now. Which he would have gladly done, however…

The teen's fingers tightened around his Bloody Rose yet again. He took a careful look around and concentrated his hunter senses on the room he was currently in. Something was still off. He knew it, he just couldn't quite figure out what exactly it was.

He didn't have to wait long to find out though, and the comprehension of what exactly it was that had been bothering him since even before he had entered the building sent a cold wave of dread right through him.

A familiar chuckle resounded around the room.

 _"So we meet again, little hunter,"_ followed right after, the no less familiar voice making Zero's skin crawl. _"Did you miss me as much as I missed you?"_

Wide amethyst eyes looked around the room in search of the source of the voice. A deep frown formed on the teen's features after a short while when he spotted some sort of dark-red matter on the ceiling.

It was moving. And spreading. It actually seemed… _alive._

Zero took an unconscious step back towards the door. The _thing_ responded by expanding.

Another step. The same result, only this time the unknown substance spread much farther. It was covering almost the entire ceiling right now, moving — _crawling_ — towards the walls and windows. The room got darker.

There was a tense pause during which everything went absolutely still. It lasted for a few breathless moments, until…

Zero turned around and made a mad dash for the door, but he wasn't fast enough to outrun whatever it was spreading from the center of the ceiling and crawling down the walls by now.

The thing moved fast, and it engulfed everything on its way, thick and impenetrable, as Zero would find out in a few seconds.

The dark-red substance sealed the door before the hunter could even reach it.

The room turned pitch black.

Zero was completely trapped. 

**-o-**

"Nothing but the Es again," Takuma reported the moment he was back at his leader's side. He sheathed his sword, his breathing still slightly uneven after fighting a fourth small army of mad vampires that day. "Where to next, Kaname?"

The pureblood's tense shoulders dropped slightly a short while later, his glowing eyes returned to their original garnet shade and regained their focus with a slow blink. Frustration crossed Kaname's features and crept into his voice when he spoke next.

"The neighboring towns aren't good either. We have to go beyond them."

Takuma nodded in understanding.

"I'll go first. Join me immediately after relaying this information to Kain and Shiki's groups," the pureblood instructed, taking off the moment he was finished without waiting for an answer.

Takuma didn't hesitate to follow Kaname's order and left as well shortly after, anxious to fulfill his given task and rejoin his leader as soon as possible.

**-o-**

_It was blood_ , Zero realized. Everything suggested so; the color, the texture, the smell that even he could detect due to the sheer amount of it. And there was also the fact that he had seen something similar before. This exact ability of this particular pureblood had creeped the hell out of him the first time he had witnessed it, too, and it hadn't even been _that_ bad back then.

Now it was everywhere. The ceiling, the walls, the windows, the door, the floor — it had swallowed everything, filling every crevice and saturating every surface while banishing all light out of the room.

And it was moving, crawling, _creeping around_. Zero couldn't see it, of course. There was nothing to see in the total darkness anyway. But he could hear it, sense it even. It had a certain energy about it, and soon Zero realized all this blood actually served as some sort of a barrier. His hunter senses couldn't go beyond this blood cage no matter how hard he tried to extend them farther.

Zero's heart raced as a terrifying realization sank in.

_Kuran Rido had him fully cut off from the world._

He couldn't see anything, he was alone, and there was no way out of the room. What exactly was he supposed to do now…?

Another chuckle sounded, filling all space around Zero. Then the pureblood spoke, still nowhere in sight yet everywhere at the same time, _"Your sweet little heart is beating so fast… Are you scared, little hunter?"_

Zero clenched his teeth.

Rido continued without waiting for the other's reply. _"You shouldn't be. I promise you, there's nothing to fear."_ He chuckled. _"Well, at least not right now."_

"…Why are you here?" Zero finally asked.

There was a sigh. _"Always so straight to the point with me, aren't you?"_ Zero could almost imagine a pout on the man's face when he continued — it was that prominent in his voice, even if it was fake. _"It hurts me terribly each time, you know?"_

Zero offered no response.

Rido released another sigh. _"You're no fun today."_

A humorless smile touched Zero's mouth. "You can leave if you want. I won't hold it against you."

A short laugh sounded. _"How very considerate of you. But won't you be lonely?"_

"I'll manage somehow."

Rido gave yet another chuckle. _"I don't doubt you will. However…"_

There was a shift in the air accompanied by movements all around the room.

 _"I'm not so sure about_ her _."_

Zero frowned, confused by the man's words. He was about to inquire what the other meant, but he got distracted by the suddenly intensified noise around him. Looking sideways, the teen found the layer of blood over the windows growing a bit thinner. The liquid was slowly moving upwards, accumulating on the ceiling and finally allowing some dim light in.

Zero breathed a quiet sigh, relieved to finally be able to see his surroundings, even if everything was painted dark, ominous red. His moment of comfort was very brief though, as the sight above him was nothing if not deeply disturbing.

The blood was still moving, _squirming_ and _twisting_ even, now concentrated in the middle of the ceiling in the form of a sphere that was steadily growing. Expanding. And _descending_.

Zero instinctively retreated and raised his gun, ready to pull the trigger at any second. He never got to it though, as a moment later an all too familiar face was suddenly revealed to him when the thick blood retreated.

Zero froze, his lavender eyes widened in unadulterated horror. _It couldn't be…_

" _Yuuki_ …?" He all but breathed out in a barely audible voice, unable — _unwilling_ — to believe his eyes.

It couldn't be true. It was an illusion — _it must be_. Rido was just messing with him for his twisted entertainment.

Yes, that was the only plausible explanation. The real Yuuki was at the academy, safe and sound. She couldn't be here. Why would she even be? It was impossible. For sure.

That was what Zero wanted to believe, what he was desperately trying to convince himself of, but he couldn't. It wasn't just her face that was familiar — it was her aura as well. He knew it too well to mistake it for someone else's.

Zero lowered his arm and moved forward, calling the girl's name again, louder this time, but never getting any response. She was unconscious, he realized, and it made his panic grow further.

The blood continued slithering its way off Yuuki, slowly freeing the rest of the girl's body from its cocoon.

Quickly holstering his Bloody Rose, Zero rushed forward, thankfully making it just in time to catch Yuuki's limp form as it fell down from the crimson mass on the ceiling.

Kneeling on the floor, Zero carefully shifted the girl to a more comfortable position and immediately checked her pulse, a relieved sigh escaping him at the steady heartbeat he felt. He couldn't be more grateful that the worst-case scenario hadn't occurred. And the fact that there didn't appear to be any bitemarks on Yuuki's neck was a definite relief.

"She is alive and well, little hunter," Rido's voice sounded again, but it seemed different this time. It was no longer a distant, subdued echo.

Amethyst eyes widened again, their owner's entire body went impossibly tense. Slowly, Zero raised his head to look up at the ceiling once more. His eyes growing even wider, he gave a sharp gasp at another familiar face he had no trouble recognizing.

_Rido._

There he was staring down at him with his usual smirk, his head the only visible part of his body that was otherwise completely hidden by his living cloak of blood. For a long moment of complete shock, Zero could do nothing but stare back. But then the pureblood moved and the spell was broken.

Hugging Yuuki protectively to his chest, Zero drew his gun anew, firing several rounds at Rido but never managing to hit his target. The man had easily dodged the bullets and then disappeared altogether after retreating back into his liquid armor.

Everything went completely still, even the blood covering the entirety of the room stopped moving at once.

Zero waited with bated breath. When nothing happened, he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, then risked closing his eyes to be able to better concentrate all his senses on detecting Rido's exact location.  
Another while of motionless silence passed.

Then both sides moved at the same time. It was a battle of speed. Unfortunately for Zero, he was at a disadvantage, and having to hold an unconscious Yuuki with his free arm was hardly helping him get the upper hand. At some point, however, Zero managed to catch up to Rido, and the next shot was going to hit the man for sure.

But it never did.

Zero's hand was suddenly yanked sideways and pinned to the floor, seized by a blood whip that had sprung out of nowhere a split second before the hunter could pull the trigger again.

Zero struggled, cursing after a few failed attempts at freeing himself. Then another amused chuckle sounded, this time right above him — way too close for comfort. Zero went completely still, his whole body tense again. His breath caught in his throat when he found Rido's face mere inches away from his own upon looking up, his eyes widened anew in shocked disbelief and quiet dread.

The man was really there, still floating in the air surrounded and supported by his living, crawling armor of blood clinging to his body like a second skin. Only he was much closer now, having reappeared and descended from the ceiling at some point in time.

Zero was starting to seriously doubt the state of his mind — the things he had witnessed since Rido's appearance had been just that surreal. Then again, the man was a pureblood, and they were known to be able to do some really freaky stuff.

Rido's usual smirk stretched wider. His lips parted to break the prolonged silence.

"Tell Kaname he can thank me later," Rido said with a brief glance at Yuuki's still unconscious form. Zero automatically tightened his hold on the girl and turned slightly to shield her from the pureblood's view.

Different-colored eyes returned to the hunter. Another while of silence ensued.

Then all of a sudden, Rido's arm came back into existence, slowly separating from the rest of the blood mass. The limb was completely drenched in the crimson liquid at first, but as it got closer to Zero, the thick blood began to retreat bit by bit, starting from the tips of the pureblood's fingers and moving farther up before slowing down somewhere in the middle of his forearm.

Zero flinched visibly at the other's cold yet deceptively gentle, almost feathery touch. He tried to move away but failed, held in place by his own hand that was still captured and pinned firmly to the floor.

Never minding Zero's reaction, Rido continued to caress his pale cheek. His smile softened somewhat when he continued, "…I look forward to seeing the new you, little hunter."

Rido's words put a confused frown on Zero's face. But before the teen could say anything in response, the pureblood disappeared after giving one last caress to his skin.

And then everything went back to normal. The room looked the same as it had before, not a single trace of blood left. Just like that.

Zero released a long breath. Not wasting any more time, he put the Bloody Rose back in the holster, then scooped Yuuki up into his arms and set off at a brisk pace.

He had no idea what had just happened, but he decided to leave the deliberation for a later time. His first priority right now was to get back to the academy as fast as possible. The sun had almost set.

**-o-**

They had finally found him.

After many hours of fruitless search filled with constant hindrances in the form of countless Level Es, Kaname and his closest followers had finally reached their intended target and what appeared to be his current residence of choice.

Kaname knew for sure Rido was there — he could feel his presence, and the man wasn't even trying to conceal it or even so much as tone it down. On the contrary, he seemed to have no qualms about letting every vampire in the immediate vicinity know exactly where he was, beckoning them to come closer, inviting them inside an old Kuran mansion that hadn't been inhabited for decades until the man and another one of his Level Es armies had come along.

It was obvious Rido had been expecting them and he didn't intend to go anywhere.

Kaname decided not to disappoint his 'dear' relative. He started down a paved path leading to the entrance of the building, his inner circle following a few nervously uncertain moments later.

As expected, they were greeted by dozens of blood-crazed Level Es that didn't hesitate to attack them the moment they entered.

Unwilling to waste precious time on the mindless creatures in his impatience to get to his uncle, Kaname used his pureblood powers to clear a path for himself by turning everyone in his way to ashes. The nobles behind him were finding it a little more difficult to fend off such a number of Level Es at once due to their fatigue catching up with them, but they were faring well in spite of the odds, so Kaname went ahead after exchanging nods with Takuma, trusting his followers to join him when they were done.

Piles upon piles of ashes marked the pureblood's path as he ascended the stairs to the second floor. His ablaze with vivid red eyes fixed straight ahead, Kaname let his senses explore the place in its spacious entirety. It took him mere seconds to gather the exact number and locations of his enemies. But that wasn't his primary goal. So he tried to scan every part of the mansion again, this time more thoroughly.

A short while later, Kaname frowned and gradually came to a halt before slowly looking up. He stayed still for some time, trying to find it, to sense even a hint of it, only to end up empty-handed each time.

Tensing visibly, the pureblood resumed walking, his brisk and urgent stride betraying his distress.

He couldn't sense them anywhere — neither Zero nor Yuuki. And that disturbed Kaname greatly. Rido was there, and he still didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave, so...

 _So_ where _on earth were they...?_

...Or was it just another one of Rido's tricks? Another one of his games? Was he somehow preventing Kaname from detecting his two most precious persons? Kaname certainly hoped that was the case, even if he hated the very idea of Rido being anywhere near his loved ones.

It didn't take the pureblood long to make it to the third and last floor. Proceeding down the hallway, he soon found himself in what appeared to have been a grand ballroom once upon a time. As expected, there Rido was waiting for him, sitting comfortably on what looked suspiciously like a throne, his ever-present mocking smirk firmly in place.

Kaname's expression turned to one of distaste at the sight.

Rido only let out an amused chuckle, his smirk widening. "Why so glum, my dear nephew? Shouldn't you be just _delighted_ to have _finally_ found me?" He asked lightly.

The questions were met with a long, stony silence. It did nothing to dampen Rido's spirits though — on the contrary, the man's amusement only seemed to grow by the minute. Kaname, however, couldn't be further from sharing that sentiment. His expression darkened, and so did his aura that was all but screaming bloody murder by now.

"Where are they?" Kaname asked after some time in a deadly cold voice that commanded obedience. Any other vampire would have been groveling at the pureblood's feet trembling with fear and ready to do anything he would demand of them, if only it would improve his mood enough to spare them from an _extremely_ painful death.

Unfortunately for Kaname, he wasn't dealing with an ordinary vampire. Rido was a pureblood just like him, and one he could cause no harm at that, to his greatest frustration. They both knew it, and Rido never missed an opportunity to exploit that advantage of his. Even now as extensions of Kaname's currently black aura were dancing slowly around him like a deadly predator ready to pounce on its prey and tear it to pieces at any given moment, the man showed no signs of distress whatsoever. On the contrary, he actually seemed to be _enjoying_ the situation even more now.

But of course, why wouldn't he? He knew he was untouchable to Kaname, after all. No matter how much his 'nephew' wanted to kill him once and for all, he was physically unable to do it. They both knew it all too well. Kaname even more so than Rido — now more than ever, he was too painfully aware of that frustrating, not to mention _humiliating_ , reality.

Rido leaned back in his throne with a drawled _'Hmm'_ , his hand that had been previously supporting his chin lowered to interlace its fingers with those of its counterpart before resting in front of the man's abdomen, his elbows never leaving their comfortable position on the armrests, his every movement smooth and unhurried — almost tauntingly so. "Where indeed…?" He drawled languidly in mock wonder.

A scowl darkened Kaname's face, the raging red of his burning orbs deepened. He rushed forward with lightning speed, the skin of his fingers darkening, his nails morphing into black talons. His hand lashed out to strike Rido, but it never so much as touched the man, forced to stop mere inches away from its target.

Rido let out a derisive snort. "Impatient, aren't we?" He teased with unconcealed mockery. Kaname snarled viciously at the man, tensing up and leaning forward as he tried to fight the invisible restraints holding him. His hand was shaking from the effort, his whole body began to ache. With another angry snarl he disappeared, retreating to the other end of the room.

The corners of Rido's mouth lifted further, his different-colored eyes narrowed slightly with pleased amusement glimmering in them. "I imagine this must be terribly frustrating for you. Rendered so helpless against me, so _powerless_ …"

Kaname had neither time nor patience for that. "Where _are_ they?" He growled.

Rido took his sweet time to respond.

"I believe they should be on their way home now, safe and sound. Although I cannot say for how long."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you probably should hurry up and head back to that academy of yours instead of wasting your time here with little old me. For as much as I enjoy our regrettably rare family reunions…" He trailed off and paused to assume his previous position, languidly raising his hand to support his chin anew. "I do want you to be there when my gift for you gets _delivered_."

Kaname scowled. "I don't want anything from _you_ ," he spat out venomously, attempting another attack on his relative with his raging aura. Every window in the room had cracked under its pressure by now, every breakable item had either broken or sustained fractures, the room itself was slowly starting to crumble around the two. "And I'm not leaving without them."

Rido's eyebrows arched in amusement. "But I just told you they weren't here. You cannot possibly think I'm _lying_ to you, can you?"

Kaname sure as hell could and he did.

"And as for that little gift…" Rido continued without waiting for an answer. His expression turned roguish. "I _know_ you will _love_ it."

The look on the man's face, his words and the way he had said them made something inside Kaname freeze in quiet horror. He didn't know where it was coming from, but he had a really bad feeling about this — whatever it was, whatever Rido had done, whatever he was getting at.

"Oh, and to make it even better, _I_ am not the one who will be giving it to you. Our dear _princess_ is."

Kaname's eyes widened, he went absolutely rigid. That dreadful feeling inside intensified.

Rido went on without so much as a semblance of regard for Kaname's growing distress. "I have to admit, it was a difficult decision to make. I would have _loved_ to do the honors, but…" He trailed off with a dramatic sigh. "Oh, the things one would do for their beloved family…"

"…What _did_ you do?" Kaname finally found it in himself to ask the question he was secretly — and shamefully — terrified to get an answer to.

Rido gave a lazy blink, then slowly tilted his head to the side. "I merely responded to our dear princess's cry for help." He paused briefly to let his words sink in, quietly relishing his favorite relative's inner turmoil. He could see the realization was already there slowly creeping its way into Kaname's mind despite the pureblood's unwillingness to accept it.

_Ah, what a wonderful feeling it was to be the cause of such deep distress… First their little hunter, and now Kaname himself… This day just couldn't be more perfect._

Holding back a contented sigh, Rido resumed speaking. "She came to me of her own free will, you know. I never forced her to do anything. Whatever decisions she had to make, they were all hers and hers alone to make. And that she did."

That realization was settling in, preparing to take root by now. Rido could see it clearly.

"All _I_ did was go along with it out of the goodness of my heart. After all, how could I not? She was so miserable, so desperate and… _pathetic_ when she reached out to me." Rido let out an amused chuckle at the memory. "It would have broken her fragile little heart _completely_ had I denied her request. You wouldn't want that, would you? Surely not when the wounds of _your_ betrayal are still fresh and bleeding."

Kaname gritted his teeth, his still clawed fingers curled into tight fists, drawing blood.

Rido's eyes slid shut as he inhaled deeply, unabashedly savoring the divine aroma of the crimson essence. He gave a small nod and hummed softly in approval. "Exquisite. As expected of the blood of the original Kuran. A mere drop is enough to intoxicate." He gave another nod to himself. "Hers is different."

Kaname's fists tightened further, his knuckles turned completely white and his claws cut deeper into his palms. There was another violent lash of his aura. It shook the room — quite literally. But it failed to hit its sole target yet again.

Still unscathed and completely unaffected, Rido continued. "Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it will never compare with the _original's_ level of quality."

" _You bit her._ " Kaname growled with another wave of mental attack, this one unsuccessful as well.

"She wanted me to."

"Lies."

"She _asked_ me to."

"Lies!" Another mental attack followed the roar, just as ineffective as all the previous ones.

"And so I _did_. And you know what I did afterwards?" Rido slowly leaned forward, his fingers interlaced to support his chin. He took his time regarding Kaname steadily. His eyes narrowed and his lips stretched ever so slowly into a dark smirk when he finally continued, answering his own question. "I gave her my blood, put her to sleep… _and delivered her straight to our favorite little hunter_." 

Kaname's burning eyes widened, he went absolutely still — even the bloodthirsty and previously crawling all over the place extensions of his aura did. The entire place seemed to have frozen in time for a very long moment of deafening silence.

Rido relished disrupting it after some time.

"You have come quite a long way to meet me…" He started languidly, leaning back in his throne once more. "How much time do you think it will take you to get back? About an hour? Two? Maybe even longer than that?"

Kaname's heart was racing madly by then, seized by panic.

"I wonder…if you will be able to make it in time to see his last moments…"

Something inside Kaname snapped violently at the thoughts and images Rido's words evoked. His aura turned rampant, and the previously frozen room came back to life. All windows shattered, their frames broke to pieces and so did every piece of furniture in the vicinity, the flooring was destroyed, antique crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling got ripped off and ended up completely deformed.

Unaffected by the chaos around him, Rido stayed where he was, watching the mayhem unfold and thoroughly enjoying the sight. 

By the time the artificial storm calmed down, Kaname had already rushed out of the mansion in the form of an agitated blur of hundreds of bats.

"Rido-sama." A Level B vampire appeared from the shadows some time later, bowing lowly as he reached his master's side. "Everything is set," he looked up, about to continue, but the state of the room that he had somehow failed to notice until now made him falter for a moment. His normally perfectly impassive expression changed to surprise as he took in his surroundings. "…We can proceed whenever you see fit."

Rido gave a nod without looking at his subordinate. "What about our friends?"

"The Council is ready to move."

"And that snake of a President?"

"Waiting for a signal from us."

Another nod from the pureblood. "Good. Get ready then. We're leaving now." 

**-o-**

Something was definitely off. Ichiru knew it, he could feel it in his bones. He had begun having suspicions sometime during the day, but he had chosen not to delve into it since he couldn't identify the source of his uneasiness anyway.

But it looked like he was given an opportunity to do it now.

It had turned up unexpectedly — a new _presence_. Foreign, invading, paralyzing, _hostile_.

_It was dangerous. It was a threat._

It made Ichiru's skin crawl. It made his instincts roar. 

_It needed to be put down._

Ichiru was about to go check what exactly it was that had disturbed his relative peace, but before he could make it out of his room, another thing assaulted his senses — a familiar scent, and it was one he knew all too well.

Ichiru tensed up with a sharp gasp, his lilac eyes widened, flashing crimson for a moment.

_Blood._

_'Nii-san…'_

Zero's _blood. Too much of it._

Ichiru was out of the Moon Dorms in an instant, letting his instincts lead him as he followed the familiar scent, terrified to realize that he was getting closer not only to his brother but to the source of that disturbing presence from before as well. 

Ichiru increased his pace.

The scent led him straight to his home. 

He felt his pulse quicken, rapidly growing dread coiled around his insides. The closer he got, the deeper the terrifying realization of what was probably happening sank in.

Ichiru didn't even notice how he burst through the doors, ran down the hallway, up the stairs and made his way to a room not so far from his and Zero's — _to his adopted sister's room._ It was only when he arrived at his destination that everything suddenly came into sharp focus and Ichiru could _see clearly_ again. And the sight he was greeted with turned his blood to ice and made him stop dead in his tracks for a _very_ long moment. He could do nothing but _stare_ in shock and absolute horror.

Everything seemed to have slowed down. Seconds ticked by almost palpably.

Then Ichiru saw red. His body moved of its own accord when he rushed forward, pulled Yuuki off Zero and threw her across the room, more than likely sending her crashing into the nearest wall but not caring about it in the slightest. Turning to his twin, he dropped to his knees and gathered him in his arms as carefully as he could. Holding Zero tightly yet gently, Ichiru checked his wounds. Lilac eyes widened in horror at the sight of a savagely torn, _mauled_ , throat before them. Zero's blood seemed to be everywhere, covering nearly the entirety of his neck, his clothed shoulder and partially his chest.

Ichiru reached to touch Zero's still bleeding neck with his trembling fingers, but his hand retreated even before the contact could be made. He shifted his gaze to Zero's face, terrified to find how pale his other half's already fair skin looked, how shallow and ragged his breathing was.

He had to stop the bleeding. He had to do something, anything. Yet before he could even try, his senses got assaulted by that disturbing presence all over again. Ichiru's whole body grew impossibly rigid. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing to vicious slits. It was the first time he looked at Yuuki —the first time he _really_ looked at her. And he couldn't feel more disgusted.

Her hair was a disheveled mess — somehow much longer now — and her eyes were a deep _red_ and she had a pair of _fangs_ poking out of her mouth.

 _And Zero's blood was all over her face, dripping down her chin and sliding down her neck to soak into her clothes._ She had obviously taken her fill and even _more_ than that. 

And yet she _still_ dared to look at _his_ brother with unconcealed, wild _hunger_ on her face.

Ichiru growled lowly. 

Never taking his eyes off Yuuki, he gently lowered Zero to the floor. One pale hand reached out shakily to clutch weakly at Ichiru's shirt, but it fell after holding onto the fabric for only a couple of seconds. The contact was so fleeting Ichiru didn't even notice it.

He got up and turned to face his adopted sister. _Slowly._

His nails extended into claws, his fangs lengthened, his eyes flashed red.

Flexing his fingers, he took a step forward, then another one.

There was a tense moment of absolute stillness.

Then they both moved at the same moment — Yuuki intending to finish her meal and Ichiru determined to put the one he perceived as a threat down.

Ichiru was faster and stronger. He grabbed Yuuki by the neck and pushed her into the wall. She struggled vigorously, scratching and hissing and shrieking and snarling at him like a wild animal. It wasn't enough to get her out of the powerful hold on her though, and the frightening realization of that fact didn't take long to dawn on the girl.

Yuuki's eyes widened in panicked horror. Her heart raced.

Ichiru's fingers tightened around her throat, and she knew then.

_He was serious._

_She was going to die._

And she most probably would have, if it wasn't for a certain individual appearing out of nowhere and tearing Ichiru away from Yuuki.

A groan escaped Ichiru as he crashed into a wall, thrown against it so hard his body dented it upon collision. He cradled his pounding head with a pained grimace on his face. Looking up, he could barely make out a thing at first, but it didn't take long for his distorted vision to slowly start clearing.

An angry scowl joined his grimace of pain when he saw who exactly had stopped him from getting rid of the _lowlife_ that had _dared_ hurt _Zero_.

_Kuran._

Lilac eyes narrowed into a hateful glare.

" _You_ …" Ichiru growled viciously. "It's all _your_ fault!" He got up, his rage overshadowing any pain and disorientation. His body automatically got into an offensive stance, prepared and eager to attack the newly arrived pureblood. But he never got to it, as before he could make more than three steps in Kaname's direction, a quiet voice — barely above a hoarse whisper — made him freeze.

_"Ichiru…"_

Ichiru turned towards the voice, his expression immediately morphed to worry and regret when he saw his twin's hunched form leaning heavily against a wall. He hadn't even noticed him move.

 _"Ichiru…"_ Zero called again.

Ichiru was by Zero's side in an instant.

It was only then that Kaname turned his attention away from the uncontrollable threat that he saw Ichiru as, and his burgundy eyes widened in horrified shock at the sight they came upon, his breath caught in his throat, his form grew unnaturally rigid.

A pained whimper sounded from Zero when Ichiru gently drew him into his arms and covered the side of his neck with his hand, pressing hard on the wound to slow the bleeding. Zero inhaled sharply and clutched at Ichiru's shirt weakly with another small whimper.

 _"Shh…"_ Ichiru soothed his other half, stroking his hair with his free hand and pressing a bit harder with the other. His teeth clenched. He could tell the bleeding wasn't slowing down at all.

Cursing softly under his breath, Ichiru looked up at Kaname. "Heal him," he growled a demand. "I don't care what and how you'll do it, heal his wound and get the hell out of here, and take _that_ ," he shot Yuuki a chilling glare before returning his attention to Kaname, "with you."

It took Kaname a moment to come to his senses enough to respond. "Ichiru-kun-"

"Now!"

Kaname didn't try any further. Ichiru didn't seem to have noticed Yuuki's true nature yet, as well as the consequences of her bite. And now was obviously not the time to have that conversation.

Kaname could only nod wordlessly and obey Ichiru's demands. Tremblingly careful, he took Zero from Ichiru's arms and cradled him against his chest, painfully aware of the younger twin's searingly distrustful gaze on him yet completely unmindful of it. 

As his fingers gently massaged Zero's skull in an unconscious attempt to offer some semblance of comfort, Kaname gazed into half-closed, dazed amethyst orbs he loved so much, a shuddering breath left him at the look in them.

Ichiru might not have realized what Yuuki's bite had done yet, but Zero _had_. Kaname could see it in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered chokingly, his eyes glistening with regret and sorrow. "I'm sorry."

Kaname bit his wrist hard and put it to Zero's slightly parted mouth. A muffled whimper of protest escaped Zero then, his brows drew together in a small frown. Kaname held him tighter, ignoring the teen's painfully feeble, barely there attempts at resistance. 

_"I'm so sorry…"_

_…How on earth had he let_ this _happen…?_


	33. Darkest Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** Hello again, my lovelies! *waves* I meant to come back sooner, but I was left without my laptop for five freaking days since it needed some maintenance, and just when there was only a small bit left to write, too. But I got it back on Friday night, which allowed me to finally finish this chapter, so here it is. _
> 
> _Sorry for the delay though. And for the length. This one ended up being much, much longer than I intended. I thought about splitting it into two parts, but there wasn't a suitable place in the chapter to do so. Plus I originally meant for it to be this way since I knew what I wanted to include into it. So please bear with me this one time. I promise I'll return to the usual length starting next chapter._
> 
> _As always, thank you for your kudos and of course, for all the kind words of support you leave in your wonderful comments! They are what keeps me going. Honestly, you have no idea how happy they make me. So really and truly, thank you all *bows deeply*_
> 
> _And you know the drill. Disclaimer, warnings and so on remain the same. All mistakes are mine._
> 
> _Hope you won't get too bored with this chapter. Also would be happy to hear your thoughts on it *bows again*_
> 
> _And now… Please enjoy! :D_

"Shizuka-sama!" Maria's panicked voice reached Shizuka's ears before its owner herself showed up, all but bursting into her chambers in the most unceremonious way without so much as knocking. "Shizuka-sama!"

 The girl never behaved in such a way — she was just too shy and well-mannered for that, not to mention that she had too much respect for Shizuka and her privacy. Whatever had made Maria so agitated, it was serious.

"Maria?" Shizuka stood up from the floor where she had been sitting by a sliding door of the porch enjoying the view of her favorite cherry blossom garden. "What is it, child?" she asked, stepping into the room and approaching a slightly hyperventilating by then Maria.

"It-…it's him, Shizuka-sama," Maria started to explain while trying to regulate her breathing, her form slightly hunched forward with one of her hands resting on her heaving chest, "it's that man. He used the girl, and…now…" she trailed off, taking a few moments to gather herself. Inhaling deeply and exhaling shakily, she raised her eyes to lock gazes with Shizuka before straightening up and continuing with a worried frown, "Zero-kun, he…he got hurt."

Shizuka's pink eyes widened briefly before narrowing in thought, her teeth clenched behind tightly closed lips.

A long minute of silence ensued. Then, turning her gaze outside once more, Shizuka voiced her decision, "Get everything ready, my dear. We are leaving now."

Maria followed the order without wasting a single second, and soon the two set off.

**-o-**

"Is that-…?" Aidou stopped abruptly at the Cross Academy iron gates, a deep frown formed on his forehead as he tried to process what his senses were telling him. "Do you feel it too?" he asked his companions, looking at each of their faces for confirmation.

Their reactions weren't that different from his own. They were confused and they doubted whether or not their senses were deceiving them as well. They _were_ exhausted, after all, so it wouldn't be surprising if their tired minds got slightly disoriented for a moment. But that didn't seem to be the case. The feeling didn't disappear, it was still there.

"It's… It's not Kaname-sama, right?" It seemed to be close, the presence that they felt, but it wasn't quite that of their leader. His was stronger, brighter, more powerful and compelling yet frightening and quietly dangerous at the same time. It commanded reverence and voluntary submission even when completely composed and under strict control.

This new one was different. It felt similar in nature, but it lacked essence. It didn't have that strength, it didn't have that certain…finesse. It was uncontrolled, wild and mad and it was all over the place. It almost seemed…lost and confused for some reason.

"It's not," Takuma confirmed. He was the first to move, his strides urgent as he rushed towards the Moon Dorms. "We need to hurry."

Everyone followed Takuma's lead, and soon they arrived at the Moon Dormitory, only to stop dead in their tracks once more upon entering the building and seeing its suddenly barely recognizable interior that was currently a far cry from its usual grand, impeccable state. They knew there was only one person who could do that to the place in such a short span of time. They could feel him. His aura was hanging over the entire building — oppressive, heavy, agitated, _sorrowful_.

It fell on them like a ton of bricks, suffocating them, pushing them down to the ground and trying to crush them under its enormous weight. It made their normally perfect postures change to subtly yet still unacceptably hunched ones and their already somber mood darken further.

"What happened here?" Aidou asked no one in particular as he slowly looked around before directing his gaze to the second floor. "Why is Kaname-sama in so much distress…?"

A long, tense silence followed. Everyone's attention was concentrated on the second floor, but no one dared take a single step in its direction, until Takuma decided that at least he had to.

"There is only one way to find out," he replied to Aidou's previous questions quietly before turning to the group. "You all stay here. I'll go check on Kaname."

No one argued. Not even Aidou had any objections. Takuma's emerald eyes lingered on the group for another moment before he turned around and made his way upstairs. Every step was a struggle — the closer he drew to his destination the worse it got.

Takuma gave a few gentle knocks on the door to Kaname's room, but got no response. He tried again after a short while. Then again. The outcome was the same each time. Sighing, the blond let his hand drop to his side. He stayed still for some time, then took a deep calming breath and hesitantly let himself inside his leader's room, not forgetting to apologize for his rudeness as he did so.

"Kaname…?" Takuma called quietly. He looked around as he stepped further into the ruined — same as the rest of the Moon Dorms — room. Unsurprisingly, there was no response, but he eventually spotted Kaname even without it.

He stopped for a long moment as he took in the sight of his friend sitting among the mess of broken furniture and shattered glass, hunched against a wall. His chest tightened at the pure misery he saw there. It was just…

 _Wrong_. It wasn't supposed to be that way. A proud, powerful pureblood such as Kaname just _wasn't meant to be that way_. So defeated and… _pitiful_.

It broke Takuma's heart to see his dear friend like that.

His instinctual fear evoked by a distressed pureblood's unrestrained, raging aura forgotten, Takuma silently headed towards Kaname. His leader remained unresponsive — at least outwardly. His aura was a different matter. It got heavier, turning hostile. Clearly, Kaname didn't want anyone near him, and Takuma couldn't help but obey and halt in his tracks — it was ingrained in him, after all.

But he couldn't leave, not yet, not like this. Not when his friend and leader was in _that_ kind of state.

With a deep, silent sigh, Takuma stepped forth, fighting the invisible restraints imposed by both Kaname's aura and his own vampire instincts. Having approached the pureblood, Takuma crouched down in front of him. Kaname still hadn't moved a muscle — he hadn't even looked up to acknowledge the blond's presence.

Takuma breathed another quiet sigh. Carefully, he reached out and put his hand on the other's bent arm that was resting tensely on a drawn up knee. For a few long moments, there was no response. Then Kaname slowly lifted his head to finally look at his friend.

Takuma's breath caught in his throat at the sight he was met with, the hollow anguish in those garnet eyes leaving him shaken to the core.

Heavy silence continued for another while, until Takuma finally found enough courage to break it.

The noble's lips pressed together for a moment of hesitation. Then he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

"…What happened?"

**-o-**

"Did you know?" Ichiru asked quietly without looking away from his twin.

No response came, which already sufficed as an answer — more like a confirmation, really — in the teen's eyes. A chuckle, mirthless with a hint of bitterness, left him before Ichiru continued in an unusually calm manner with an emotionless smile on his face, "Of course you did. How could you not?"

Cross still didn't say anything, and a long moment of tense silence ensued.

Soon Ichiru's smile disappeared, his expression turned almost disturbingly blank.

"All these years…you let us stay so close to a hidden _pureblood_ , of all things," the younger twin spoke again after a while. His brows furrowing, he turned to look at his legal guardian for the first time. " _How_ could you not say anything?"

A sad smile curled Cross's lips. "It was essential to keep it secret. Yuuki's safety depended on it."

" _Our_ safety depended on it too. You should have told us about the constant threat near us."

Cross frowned in clear disapproval. "It's _Yuuki_ , Ichiru-kun. She could never be a threat."

Ichiru scowled. "Nii-san's current condition proves otherwise. Or did you fail to notice what happened?"

"Of course I didn't."

"It should have never happened."

"…I know."

"It wouldn't have happened had you told us before it got too late," Ichiru pressed on.

Cross's frown showed his disagreement. "You can't know that."

"I do know that," Ichiru insisted. " _I_ would have never let it happen."

The older man's expression softened, turning sad, his shoulders slumped. "…It wasn't my place to tell, Ichiru-kun," he tried to justify himself once more.

Ichiru regarded his guardian silently for a long moment before turning away and focusing his attention on his twin anew.

"You should go see her then instead of wasting your time here with us. I'm sure she needs you now," Ichiru suggested after some time, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He felt his chest tighten, and there was a weird prickling sensation in the corners of his eyes as he continued bitterly, surprised to find out how difficult it was to keep his voice normal as he forced out his next words, "We don't."

It hurt. Saying all that actually hurt, and Ichiru hated it. He hated feeling that way — he _shouldn't_ feel that way. He wasn't wrong. Maybe he wasn't completely right, but he wasn't wrong either.

Cross lingered a little longer. Letting out a resigned sigh, he put his hand on his younger adopted son's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Call me if you need anything," the man said with a small, sad smile, and then left.

That hurt too, and it was at that moment that Ichiru knew for sure.

He had gotten too close. He had gotten way too comfortable — dangerously comfortable — with that place, that new life and family. He had forgotten it was all just make-believe. He had forgotten his brother was the only one he could truly trust.

It was his mistake.

But he would make it right.

And there wouldn't be a second time. He would never make the same mistake again.

**-o-**

Kaname couldn't stay away in the end.

In spite of his shame and guilt, in spite of the fact that he knew all too well he didn't deserve to be near Zero after everything that had happened because of _him_ , he still couldn't heed Ichiru's words and keep his distance.

He had to be there. He _needed_ to be there, to see his beloved, to feel his presence, to hear his heartbeat — to confirm that he was alright and to make sure it _would_ stay that way. And he was going to do it even if he had to force his way in.

Cross's house came into view, and Kaname's heartbeat sped up. He automatically extended his senses, probing with his aura as carefully as he could, desperate to _feel_ that one presence he wanted to always have by his side.

A shaky sigh of relief left the pureblood when he found it — weakened but _alive_. It was all that mattered now. 

Kaname's strides quickened a little before he could rein in his impatience. He was almost there, less than a minute away from pushing the front door open and stepping inside to follow the familiar way to the twins' room, when all of a sudden…

He stopped abruptly, tensing up.

_It couldn't be…_

He turned around sharply, his burgundy eyes flashed vivid red. He quickly redirected his senses and concentrated them outside of the academy, hoping against all hope that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

No such luck.

 _They were there_ , Kaname realized.

His face twisted into a dark scowl, his blazing eyes narrowed.

He _was there. And it wasn't a courtesy visit._

Kaname looked over his shoulder at the front door he knew he wouldn't get to go beyond anytime soon. All hostility left his face, replaced by regretful longing. He lingered for another few moments, more than just reluctant to go anywhere other than inside the house. But he knew he had to leave. Now. For the sake of his beloved too.

So he did, vanishing from sight in a split second with his vampire speed.

It took him mere moments to arrive at the academy gates — at the _open_ academy gates, which shouldn't be the case, the hunter spells on them were supposed to ward off any unwanted visitors. Yet there they were, wide open to allow his enemies in. And Rido had already made it past the invisible wall that was supposed to separate the academy from the rest of the world.

There was no way the man had accomplished it on his own. There was no way he had won against hunter magic — none other than _Cross's_ hunter magic at that — alone. He _had to_ have help, and not just anyone's help, but a _hunter's_.

Kaname hated the conclusions his mind was reaching, even if his suspicions had been there since some while ago.

"And here we are again, dear nephew," Rido spoke, smiling widely. "I hope you don't mind," he slowly turned his head to cast a sidelong glance behind him, "I brought some friends to our little party. After all…" Different-colored eyes returned to Kaname, the man's smile turned into a sinister grin, showing his extended fangs. Spreading his arms languidly, Rido continued, "You know how the saying goes, the more the merrier."

As if on cue, dozens of Level Es came into view, some filing in through the gates and some climbing over the walls surrounding the academy — some staying perched on top of those walls and some descending from it to come stand behind their master. Kaname watched the disturbing sight with growing uneasiness, getting more disgusted with his 'uncle' with every passing second. The sheer number of humans the man had turned… 

It was abhorrent. Rido's complete disregard for the human life was unacceptable, and it only proved just how dangerous the man truly was for the world. He _had to_ be eliminated. There would never be any semblance of peace otherwise.

"Kaname!"

"Kaname-sama!"

Kaname sensed the members of his inner circle arrive. They stopped a few paces behind him, gasping in unison at the appalling sight that greeted them.

Rido's smile widened. "I see we are all set now."

The Level Es kept coming from every direction, Kaname could feel their auras along the entire perimeter of the academy.

Different-colored eyes flashed brightly. The Level Es froze for a moment before taking up offensive stances, one by one. Every member of Kaname's inner circle did the same, preparing to fight. But Kaname had other plans for them. 

"Scatter and take care of the ones along the rest of the perimeter wall," Kaname commanded evenly without looking at his followers.

There was a moment of hesitant silence before Takuma asked, "…What about you?"

"I will be fine on my own."

Takuma pressed his lips together, reluctant to leave his friend alone. So were Aidou and Ruka, but before they could voice their protests, Takuma gave a slow nod and a short reply, "Understood."

Within a few seconds, they were gone.

Kaname's muscles involuntarily tensed as he braced himself for the upcoming battle.

Rido's eyes flashed once more.

The Level Es charged forward.

**-o-**

In another part of the academy, Yagari and Kaito were engaged in a battle against a horde of Level Es, forced to fight to the near limit of their abilities in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation. The fallen vampires turned to ashes one after another, yet there still seemed to be no end to them, they just kept coming.

It continued for a while, until another presence entered their senses. Then a few more. Kaito was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but the sentiment was short-lived, as the next thing he knew, all the Level Es stopped the attack and retreated, separating and clearing a path for a group of hunters led by their very own President.

"Stand back, both of you," the President commanded. "You don't belong on _that_ side of the battle line."

Yagari scowled darkly, growling, "I didn't realize we even _were_ on different sides, _President_."

"We won't have to be if you surrender and join us quietly," the President replied, his thin lips curved up into a subtle, sickening smile. He shifted his gaze to Kaito. "The same applies to you, Takamiya-kun. Lower your weapon and stop this pointless struggle."

There was no response. Yagari and Kaito stayed where they were without making a single move to comply with the other man's demands.

A few moments of silence passed before the President continued, "Why are you so hesitant? It shouldn't be a difficult choice. Neither of you ever believed in Cross's utopian ideals anyway." 

"I still don't," Yagari answered. "But even those ideals of a foolish old man are better than conspiring with vampires," he added, disgust evident in his voice and on his face.

The President let out a haughty snort. "A man like you would never understand. You're just too short-sighted to see that I'm only doing what's best for the hunters."

"You mean for you," Yagari corrected. "You're only doing what's best _for you_."

The older man gave another snort. "Like I said, too short-sighted." He looked at Kaito again. "I certainly hope you're smarter than that, Takamiya-kun. You shouldn't let a bad influence destroy your sure to be brilliant future."

"I won't," Kaito said firmly. "Don't worry about it."

The two hunters still made no move to surrender.

The President's slanted eyes narrowed. "I see. That truly is a shame. I had hoped to avoid such an outcome. It will be a great loss for the Association." He opened his fan with a sharp flick of the wrist before covering the lower half of his face with it. "But I suppose we will just have to live with it, won't we?" With another quick flick of the President's wrist, sharp blades slid forth from the fan. The hunters behind the man drew their weapons.

For a very long moment, everything went completely still.

Then the President charged forward to attack. The group of hunters followed, and so did the Level E army.

Yagari and Kaito braced themselves. They knew they were screwed, now more than ever. For the first time in their lives, they actually had doubts about their chances of surviving a battle.

The hunters were closing in on them. The two were about to start forward to meet their attackers head on, when another presence assaulted their senses, freezing the Level Es to the spot and making the President's followers falter.

There was a loud metallic clash as the President's fan and Cross's hunter sword collided.

"Cross," the President hissed venomously through gritted teeth. "How nice of you to finally join us." He retreated, jumping back a few paces. "I see you still haven't let go of that sword of yours. And here I thought you have gone completely insane with your foolish pacifist delusions," he sneered.

Cross showed no reaction to the other's goading, keeping his fighting stance firm and leaving no openings for his enemies to exploit. It wasn't the goofy and annoyingly cheerful Chairman they knew and were used to anymore. It was the strongest hunter of all times, the living legend, the one known as the 'Vampire Without Fangs'. The contrast was almost terrifying, and Kaito couldn't be happier that the man was on their side.

"Took you long enough, dammit," Yagari grumbled as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes to retrieve and lit one before sticking it into his mouth and taking a long drag on it. Kaito suppressed the urge to shake his head in exasperation at the senior hunter's attitude in their current situation. Meanwhile Yagari continued, "Your age must be catching up to you, old man."

A faint smile formed on Cross's lips. "I guess it's about time," he snorted softly.

Yagari scowled, growling, "It better not affect your fighting skills. We need every damn bit we can get here."

"I'll try not to set you back too much."

"I'll kick your useless ass if you get in my way," Yagari mock threatened, throwing his unfinished cigarette on the ground and stomping it out.

"Are you two done?" The President asked, unimpressed. He received no verbal reply, but the three's attention was on him, and that sufficed as a response. "Good. Now…" He assumed his fighting stance anew. "Let's finally settle this once and for all, shall we?" 

The place turned into complete chaos in less than a minute.

**-o-**

The same chaos was breaking out in every other part of the academy. The Night Class had scattered all over the premises to fight the endless army of Level Es, overcoming their fatigue from all the previous battles they had had to engage in during their search for Zero and Yuuki, doing their best not to let the deranged vampires trespass any further than they already had.

Against all odds, the Night Class members had been managing well enough so far. But the situation changed for the worst when, unexpectedly, they found themselves forced to fight their peers that weren't just _nobles_ like them, but the members of the _Vampire Council_ as well. And out of everyone, Takuma had to face the toughest opponent — in every sense of the word — so far. 

"We need a strong ruler," the head of the Vampire Council and Takuma's very own grandfather, Ichijou Asato, known also as 'Ichiou', said as he blocked another attack by his grandson. 

"We already have one," Takuma replied firmly after landing a few meters away from the older man and slaying a couple of Level Es that had charged at him with his katana sword.

A disapproving frown came to Ichiou's face as he expressed his disagreement, "We need one that cares for _his own people_ rather than his _livestock_."

Takuma frowned as well, miffed by the demeaning comparison. "Is that all the humans are to you? Only a livestock?"

"What else are they good for other than nourishment and entertainment?" Ichiou let out a soft snort of disgust before continuing, "Although I highly doubt they are any good even for the latter. It is beyond my comprehension how so many respected high status members of our superior race can bear actually consorting with such lowly beings."

The more Takuma listened to his grandfather, the more appalled he grew. He had always been aware of the man's contempt for the human race, but he hadn't realized just how deep-rooted it seemed to be.

"You're wrong," was all the younger Ichijou could say in response. He gripped his sword tightly with both hands. "And I'm going to prove it to you." 

"The one who will be proven wrong is you, Takuma." Ichiou's icy eyes narrowed, his frown morphed into a scowl. "It is time for you to open your eyes and give up the foolish ideals Kaname poisoned your mind with."

Takuma adjusted his stance, his fingers involuntarily tightened around the sword handle further. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his madly pounding heart. Everything around him faded as he forced himself to concentrate on his opponent.

He exhaled slowly. Then, after a brief moment of absolute stillness, he resumed his attacks with renewed determination.

**-o-**

Momentarily shifting his attention from his brother, Ichiru looked out the window.

He could feel it. Countless of presences scattered all over the academy engaged in a fierce battle. There were hunters and there were vampires, but the overwhelming majority of those presences consisted of Level Es.

Every member of the Night Class, including their pureblood leader, was out there fighting, and so was every hunter in the academy, save for the two of them. Ichiru knew even Cross was there, and he couldn't help but be genuinely impressed — as well as a little terrified, if he were honest — by the man's overwhelming presence that exuded so much power it sent chills down Ichiru's spine even from a considerably safe distance.

It must be really serious if even their unchangingly annoying happy-go-lucky guardian chose to come out of his lengthy retirement just for that.

 _'Not that it matters,'_ Ichiru concluded as he looked at his brother's sleeping face. It was Kuran Kaname's fight, and he wanted no part in it. It didn't concern him. It didn't concern _them_. The only thing that mattered was Zero and his well-being — it had always been that way and nothing had changed even now.

Sighing, Ichiru reached out to stroke his twin's hair, automatically feeling the other's cheek and forehead for any signs of fever along with it. There didn't seem to be any. Ichiru exhaled a quiet breath of relief. His hand lingered to tuck a few stray silver strands behind Zero's ear.

There was a moment of peacefulness in the midst of the escalating chaos. But then a faint noise outside the window drew Ichiru's attention away from his counterpart. A faint frown crossed the teen's features as he looked towards the source of the mild disturbance.

It was a bird. A crow. And it was sitting on the window ledge staring at him.

Ichiru would have ignored the creature, but its unusually — disturbingly — intense beady eyes and their fixed stare didn't let him. There was something really _off_ about that bird. At the same time, however, there was also a mild sense of familiarity emanating from it. It drew Ichiru in.

He got up and made his way towards the window. Unsurprisingly, the bird stayed, motionless, still staring. Ichiru hesitated for a few moments. Then he opened the window.

**-o-**

_It wasn't far now. They would be there soon._

_'It's done, Shizuka-sama,' Maria mentally informed Shizuka as the two were making their way through another small town on their way to the Cross Academy. 'I relayed your message.'_

_'Thank you, child,' Shizuka sent her mental reply. 'Keep observing and inform me of any changes.'_

_'As you wish.'_

**-o-**

"How did you like my gift?" Rido asked as he seized Kaname's forearm with his blood whip to stop the other pureblood from retreating after his latest attack. He pulled his relative closer, leaving mere inches between their faces. His ever-present smile widened at the look of displeasure he could clearly see on Kaname's face. His voice lowered when he continued, "You did get it, didn't you?"

Growling, Kaname pulled his captured arm back and tried to land a heavy blow with his free one, only to fail yet again, all because of the invisible restraints Rido had put on him many years ago — to Kaname's greatest frustration and misfortune.

Rido chuckled. "I see. I'm glad it was to your liking. So sorry for keeping you away from it though." The two broke off when Rido retreated in order to dodge piles of rubble sent flying his way by Kaname's telekinetic powers. "Aw, come now, don't be like that. I did apologize. Don't go all sulky on me now."

"You talk too much," Kaname snarled.

"You talk too little," Rido replied languidly. "Perhaps that is the reason you haven't been able to make much progress with that little hunter of yours," he taunted. "You should be _grateful_ to have such a _thoughtful_ uncle as myself, don't you think?"

"I _don't_."

"Always so difficult," Rido complained lightly. "And here I hoped we would finally get past that rebellious stage of yours, now that I gave you what you want…"he trailed off with a dramatic sigh, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Kaname's scowl darkened at yet another reminder of what had happened mere hours ago. He sent another telekinetic wave that turned another batch of Level Es trying to pounce at him into ashes, hitting even the ones behind Rido in the process. It was only most unfortunate that the attack had no effect on the fallen vampires' master himself.

Kaname extended his aura towards the open iron gates, tearing one of its doors off its hinges before bending and twisting it until it got completely deformed.

Rido watched from the side with mild curiosity. A small smirk on his lips widening, he arched an amused eyebrow when the metal mass started to melt, eventually taking on a completely different shape. Without averting his gaze, he made a deep cut on his palm and slowly raised his hand. His blood spilled in a thin rivulet, descending slowly yet never hitting the ground, floating in mid-air instead.

The liquid metal started hardening after assuming the shape of a sword.

Rido's smirk widened, becoming lopsided. He made small waving motions with his hand, maneuvering his blood so that it would mirror the form of his relative's makeshift sword.

Kaname extended his arm and opened his hand. His freshly made sword landed snugly in it after covering the distance separating it from its creator in less than a second, as though pulled by a magnet.

Rido caught his own sword as it began falling when the last drop of his blood dripped from his palm and merged with the rest of the dark-red mass. The liquid solidified the moment the man's skin made contact with it, the effect rapidly spreading from the handle to the very tip. 

"Well, this should be fun," Rido said with a chuckle before raising his sword and languidly adopting a relaxed fighting stance. "Let's see how far you can get this time, shall we?"

Kaname waited a moment. Then he disappeared from sight for a split second before materializing right in front of Rido, a resounding clash of their swords filling the area and shaking the ground, a powerful shock wave produced by the concurrent collision of the two pureblood's powers reducing every Level E in the immediate vicinity to ashes.

**-o-**

Ichiru's hand was a split second away from making contact with his hunter katana when the said weapon emitted a spark of light, warning the teen away. Frowning with annoyance, Ichiru withdrew his hand and got his gloves, wearing them before trying to pick up his sword once more. This time he succeeded.

A quiet sigh escaped the teen. It had been so long since he had handled any hunter weapon he had forgotten all about their reaction to him as a vampire.

 _'So troublesome,'_ Ichiru thought absently with another sigh. _'And somewhat symbolic,'_ he mentally added with a bitter chuckle. He guessed he really _wasn't_ meant to be a hunter, if even his own damn hunter weapon was rejecting him so stubbornly.

Not that it even mattered. Not anymore. 

Ichiru put his sword on top of the dresser he had retrieved it from, then took three sheathed hunter daggers and strapped them to his belt along his back. Looking over his shoulder at his still slumbering twin, he absently pushed the drawer that contained a small part of their armory shut before grabbing his sword, turning around and approaching the bed. Bending down, Ichiru gently stroked his counterpart's hair and kissed his forehead, lingering there for a few seconds before withdrawing and leaving the room.

He made his way down the hallway and to the first floor, soon reaching the entrance hall where he put on his jacket before leaving through the front door. No one was around, but Ichiru knew they weren't far, fighting their enemies all along the academy's boundary line. The sheer amount of all the different — both in kind and intensity — raging auras he could feel was overwhelming. Still, he had no trouble ignoring the war raging around him as he started towards the Moon Dorms.

To Ichiru's chagrin, however, he didn't get too far, as an all too unpleasantly familiar presence showed its owner's annoying face in front of him before he could cover so much as half the distance to his destination.

Ichiru came to a halt.

"Where do you think you're going, Kiryuu Ichiru?" the redhead hunter Ichiru was — unfortunately and against his will — well acquainted with by now asked.

Lilac eyes narrowed. "That is none of your business," Ichiru replied in an eerily calm manner. "Get out of my sight now if you don't want to get hurt."

"Is that a threat?"

An unimpressed silver eyebrow rose. "What else did it sound like?"

The redhead snorted with disdain. "You just never learn, do you?"

"Do _you_?" Ichiru shot back. "Like I said, either get lost, or suffer the consequences of your stupidity. I don't have time to spare on you."

"Oh, _that_ you don't have _for sure_ ," the hunter scoffed smugly, clearly unaffected by Ichiru's words.

Ichiru scowled, all but growling, "What is that supposed to mean?" 

"That you're not going anywhere, other than the cage where you belong. The President issued an order to take you into custody," the red-haired man informed smugly. "And I am here to execute it."

 _What a surprise._ "And _I_ don't give a damn about it. Nor about that slimy President and his whims."

"So you refuse to obey and go quietly?"

Ichiru snorted. "Did you actually think I wouldn't?"

"Well then..." the redhead trailed off as he drew his gun and pointed it straight at Ichiru, a satisfied smirk slowly pulled the corners of his mouth up when he continued, "I have no choice other than to bring you in by force, do I?"

Ichiru shrugged, unaffected by the obvious threat. "Or you can save yourself the humiliation and leave while I'm still willing to allow it."

The redhead snorted, disdain visible on his face. "How very generous of you," he said with heavy sarcasm. "But I'll pass." He quickly shifted into an offensive stance and pulled the trigger without waiting for an answer.

Ichiru easily dodged the first and all the following bullets as he charged forth at vampire speed. "Too bad for you then," he said quietly, drawing his sword and swinging it at his opponent with precision and grace. Steel clashed with steel as the redhead blocked Ichiru's attack with his gun. Not wasting time, the older hunter reached inside his jacket with his free hand, pulling out a dagger and swinging it towards Ichiru's middle, only for it to collide with the silver-haired teen's own hunter dagger that he had managed to get just in time to stop the attack.

The two remained locked like that for a few moments, both trying to overpower their opponent, before jumping back several paces and then rushing forward anew to resume fighting the second they regained their footing. It went on for a while without much progress until the redhead decided to use hunter spells as well, seeing that his gun and dagger weren't enough.

Ichiru's face twisted into a grimace as he hissed at a sharp pain that shot through his arm, paralyzing him. He quickly managed to break free from the spell's effects though, doing it just in time to narrowly escape another attempted stab. He leapt back and landed on the ground in a crouch, one hand still holding his katana firmly, ready to strike at any time, while the other was leaning on the ground helping him maintain his balance, no dagger in it anymore. It was only then that Ichiru realized he had lost it somewhere along the way — most probably during that one second he had been affected by the spell.

 _No matter._ He still had two more. Although he doubted he would need them now.

"That was sloppy work," Ichiru commented. "You have to do much better than that to get me."

The redhead scowled. That was what he hated about the Kiryuu brats the most — their arrogance. Especially so the younger one's. "Don't worry, I won't miss next time."

"There won't be one with me." Slowly, Ichiru rose. "I'm not some average Level E you're so used to dealing with, whether you like it or not." He started pulling one of his gloves off his unoccupied hand.

"And you seem to be perfectly comfortable with that fact," the older hunter remarked with a look of distaste on his face. "You really are a disgrace to our kind."

"I believe you've already said that before." The glove was off. "And I _still_ don't care what you think." He cut his palm with his sword, ignoring the discomfort the contact was causing him. Then he moved. Fast. So did his opponent, but Ichiru was faster. And sure enough, he stayed true to his word. 

Whatever hunter charms the redhead used, Ichiru blocked and countered each and every one of them with his own. He may have not tamed his hunter weapon, but he had managed to find a way around his vampire nature to perform spells — both hunter _and_ vampire ones — that had always been his strongest suit.

It didn't take long for one of Ichiru's attacks to hit its target.

The red-haired hunter groaned as he doubled over, clutching his chest in pain, his whole body racked by violent shivers. It took him mere seconds to recover, but in their world even such an insignificant amount of time was a luxury one couldn't afford during a battle.

" _That_ is the way you do it," Ichiru said, standing over the older hunter and holding his sword to the man's bowed head.

" _Filthy vampire_ ," the redhead hissed through gritted teeth as he glared up at Ichiru with narrowed eyes. "I'll _kill_ you."

Ichiru gave a soft snort. "I would like to see you try. _Again_."

"It will be the last thing you ever see," the redhead promised menacingly, "I _will_ make sure of it."

Another snort escaped the silver-haired teen, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in an openly condescending smirk. "You really should stop making promises you know you can't keep. It will save you _a lot_ of embarrassment."

The redhead clenched his jaw, his fingers tightened around his gun. "You arrogant little-"

Ichiru brought his sword forward, stopping a breath away from the redhead's throat, making the man freeze in place just as he was about to lift his gun and point it at Ichiru anew.

"Careful now, hunter," Ichiru warned, "You don't want to make another wrong move."

A long moment of tense silence passed.

"…It doesn't matter if you get away now. The entire Association will come after you as soon as this whole mess is over," the older hunter spoke again. "And none of your precious protectors will have a say in it this time. Not even that pureblood prick of yours."

"Which is perfectly fine with me," Ichiru replied calmly, unaffected by the other's words. "And as for the Association…" He stepped closer and squatted down, never removing his sword from the redhead's neck. "You all can do whatever the hell you want. But keep in mind that the next time you try anything like this…" The sword slowly moved sideways, breaking the skin on the older hunter's neck and drawing blood. "I won't hesitate to kill you," Ichiru finished, his eyes flashing red as he put his unoccupied hand on his opponent's head and whispered one last spell that knocked the other out. 

Letting the red-haired man drop to the ground, Ichiru slowly straightened up and sheathed his katana before turning around and heading towards his dagger, picking it up and putting it back in its sheath as well. He gave the unconscious hunter's form one last quick look over his shoulder, and then he left, resuming his walk to the Moon Dorms.

It wasn't long before he reached his destination, this time without any obstacles. He let himself into the grand building and made his way through the lounge room and up the stairs, absently looking around and raising a curious eyebrow at the bafflingly unfortunate state of his surroundings. The place looked as though it had been hit by a hurricane.

Ichiru didn't let his attention linger on the interior for longer than a few fleeting seconds though, choosing to focus it on his target instead.

He could feel it, that partly familiar yet so foreign presence. He could feel it keenly, crawling, wriggling all over the place. It was almost nauseating.

Ichiru let his senses lead him to the source of that presence — the only other presence in the entire building and its vicinity, save for his own. He ended up in the part of the dormitory that was opposite to the one where his own temporary room was. The air there was heavier, thicker. Ichiru guessed it was that disturbing aura that was making it so.

The teen came to a stop in front of a set of massive double doors at the very end of the hallway. He automatically stretched his senses to probe inside the room. There was no movement on the other side. He wondered vaguely whether it would change after his next action.

Ichiru pulled his sword out of the sheath and made another slash across the palm of his ungloved hand with it. The previous wound had almost healed by then, even though it had been caused by a hunter weapon, and Ichiru still needed blood.

He thought he sensed some stirring behind the door, but he didn't pay it much heed. He still had a task to carry out.

Lifting his bleeding hand, the teen drew several symbols on the doors before taking a step away to check his handiwork, unconsciously nodding to himself when he was done. Taking a calming breath Ichiru would have never thought he would need, he stepped forth and entered the room, pushing the door shut behind him.

Looking around, he found Yuuki on a king-sized bed against the center of the opposite wall, apparently just awakening from her sleep. Her eyes were glowing red again and her hair was still disheveled. Her clothes were the same as the last time he had seen her too. There was only one thing different about her appearance now, really. It was the lack of blood on her face and neck.

_His brother's blood._

Ichiru couldn't help but snort quietly, disdain evident on his face.

Of course Kuran would clean his precious sister up before carefully tucking her into bed for her _much-needed_ beauty sleep now, wouldn't he? Ichiru could easily imagine it. The pureblood cleaning _Zero's_ blood off his _little princess_ with utmost gentleness while the one he _claimed_ to care deeply for was fighting for his life after getting poisoned by the bite of that same _princess_ of his.

 _What a joke._

He didn't deserve to be near Zero. Neither of the two purebloods did. And Ichiru would make sure that his twin wouldn't have to be in their presence anytime soon.

Yuuki shifted into a sitting position, her burning eyes not leaving him even for a second. Ichiru could see it there, the thirst.

 _She was actually_ still _hungry, even after taking_ so much _of Zero's blood._

Lilac eyes narrowed in contempt, flashing crimson briefly. Ichiru put his injured hand flat on the door and whispered a spell that was the concluding part of a suppression charm.

He wouldn't stand for any unplanned disturbances. He didn't want to stay in that place for longer than he had to.

Yuuki shifted again, her tense body leaning forward. Ichiru could tell she was preparing to attack. She had probably been itching to do so since he had entered but couldn't with her fear stopping her.

Ichiru snorted, his lips curled subtly in derision. 

A powerful pureblood scared of a mere Level D… How ironic was that? Not to mention _pathetic_. 

Ichiru threw his katana's sheath aside and waited.

A few moments of heavy silence was all it took. Yuuki rushed forward madly with a shrieking roar, her glowing eyes wide and wild, claws and fangs out and eager to attack.

Ichiru didn't hesitate for a second. His movements were smooth, fast and efficient.

He raised his sword.

He drew it back.

He waited a moment.

And then he charged forward and seized Yuuki's neck, forcing the girl's smaller body backwards and pushing it onto the floor before pinning it down with a precise strike of his sword.

An ear-piercing shriek erupted the same instant pure vampire blood hit the air. It was too bad for Yuuki the two of them were the only ones who could hear it. Neither sound nor smell could escape beyond that room — Ichiru had made sure of it with his suppression charm. 

Yuuki quietened soon enough, her screams of pain died down and got replaced by miserable sobs. Her blood was spreading on the floor with her whole body shaking. She lashed out at Ichiru with clawed hands next, unmindful of the fact that struggle would only bring her more pain.

Which it surely did.

In a flash, Ichiru drew one of his daggers and stabbed it through one of Yuuki's hands, pinning it to the floor, drawing more blood and evoking another shrill cry. Without waiting for the girl to recover, Ichiru pulled out another dagger and took hold of Yuuki's uninjured hand and promptly slashed its wrist. Letting go of the now blood-stained dagger, he reached into his jacket pocket for a glass vial, pushing its cap off with his thumb and bringing it to Yuuki's wrist to collect the girl's blood. It didn't take long for the small vessel to get filled, and as soon as Ichiru was satisfied with the amount of dark-red liquid in it, he dropped Yuuki's hand and put the cap back on before putting the vial back into his pocket.

Yuuki's screams had long ceased by then, having once again turned to uncontrollable sobs as the girl just lay there bleeding and quietly crying her eyes out, still pinned to the floor by Ichiru's sword and dagger.

Ichiru's head tilted slightly to the side as he observed his adopted sister dispassionately, absently surprised by his own lack of emotional response to the sight that he could only describe as _pitiful_.

Slowly, Ichiru bent forward and planted one of his hands on the floor for support. He observed the brunet some more, waiting for her eyes to focus on him — to really focus on him. It wasn't long before they did. And it was only then that Ichiru spoke for the first time since his arrival.

"I could easily kill you," he started slowly, his voice low and unemotional. "I could drink you dry, tear your heart out and rip it to shreds before leaving your lifeless corpse to turn to dust."

Yuuki's eyes widened, full of fear and panic. She breathed in sharply, about to say something — most likely to plead with him not to hurt her, Ichiru guessed. But he never gave her the chance to do so, continuing before she could utter a single word, indifferent to her turmoil. 

"But I won't do it. Not now, at least." Relief flashed across Yuuki's face, but it wasn't meant to stay there for long. "And I won't have to so long as you _behave_." Ichiru paused to let his words sink in, continuing only when he believed they had, "But if you ever pull something like that again, if you even so much as _try_ to hurt my brother _ever again_ … I _will_ kill you. You _know_ I will, don't you?"

Yuuki did, Ichiru knew she did, he could clearly see it in her eyes.

"Don't waste this opportunity, Yuuki," Ichiru added. "You will finally have that annoying prince of yours all to yourself, so do try to be useful for once and regain the place you once held in his heart. After all…" A jeering smirk slowly stretched Ichiru's lips. "That is all your whole pathetic life was ever about…right?"

A miserable sob escaped from Yuuki's tight throat, more tears fell from her eyes.

Ichiru remained unmoved by the girl's anguish. His eyes lingered on her for another moment, then he rose to his feet and headed out of the room, never bothering to take his sword and daggers with him.

**-o-**

Kaname froze mid-attack as a familiar scent of Yuuki's blood reached his nose. She was hurt and bleeding profusely — she had been for some time, Kaname concluded. Yet he had somehow failed to notice it until that very second.

Worry gripped him. He got distracted for a moment, and it cost him. Rido didn't miss the opportunity to strike when he saw the opening.

Hissing loudly in pain, Kaname backed away, Rido's sword that was still imbedded in his shoulder sliding out of his flesh with the movement. He covered his bleeding wound with his free hand, slouching a bit.

Rido tutted. "Kaname, Kaname…" he started in a reprimanding manner, "I know you must be worried about our dear princess, but you really should know better than to let your guard down like that when facing _me_."

Kaname's eyes narrowed hatefully. "What did you do?" he growled.

"To her?" Rido asked with an arched eyebrow and an ever-present smirk. "Nothing," he said with a shrug, continuing after a moment, "Oh, come on, don't look at me like that. I'm telling the truth. And besides…" His smirk stretched further, darkening mischievously. "Right now, I am much more interested in seeing how our little hunter is doing."

Kaname's eyes widened briefly before narrowing again as his face twisted into an angry scowl. A low growl rumbled in his throat, his teeth bared.

Rido was unaffected by his relative's open display of hostility. "He _is_ alive, isn't he? He must be, he is strong. That is what I like about him." He paused to give a soft chuckle. "Well, that and the divine scent of his sweet blood."

Kaname was in front of Rido in an instant, their swords clashing yet again as the younger pureblood launched another fierce attack on his uncle. It took every bit of Kaname's willpower to keep pushing. His hand was shaking, his body was rapidly growing stiff with the spreading pain the effort caused.

"Don't you dare speak of him!" Kaname roared, his eyes shining a bright, wild red that promised nothing but violence.

"So possessive," Rido remarked mockingly, his expression became one of feigned hurt and a faint frown creased his brow before he continued, "and so hurtfully ungrateful. A little taste of your precious hunter's blood is _the least_ you can offer me for my generosity."

"I will never let you lay a finger on him," Kaname growled menacingly through gritted teeth, pushing Rido violently with his sword and forcing him to retreat a few meters away, only to rush forward towards the man with another powerful swing.

Rido managed to stop that one as well, albeit with more difficulty. It was getting harder to fight Kaname. And that was troublesome.

Still, Rido's mocking smirk never faltered. "We will see about that." Different-colored eyes flashed red, and involuntary panic immediately seized Kaname's insides in its freezing cold hold. The man was up to something. He knew it, he could feel it in his bones.

Without thinking, Kaname pulled back and turned around, intent on heading to Cross's house. He didn't make it far though, as Rido blocked his way and swung his sword at him, pushing Kaname backwards while summoning more Level Es.

Kaname prepared to unleash another telekinetic wave.

He didn't get the chance to do it though, as all of a sudden, the ground beneath them began to shake and hundreds upon hundreds of tree roots and branches appeared all around them, growing with astonishing speed to meet and intertwine at the very top, forming a large cage-like structure. There were thousands of tiny buds, and they started opening one by one, soon decorating the inside of the makeshift cage with light-pink cherry blossom flowers.

Kaname and Rido pulled away from each other, both looking around with puzzled frowns on their faces.

When the last flower opened, everything stilled and an eerie silence descended for a long moment.

Then the ground shook again, harder this time, and more roots shot out of it, moving at a mad speed as each and every one of them surged towards Rido with clear intent to strike. The man tried to fend them off by cutting them with his sword, but they kept growing tirelessly without halting their movements even for a second. Forced to retreat further, Rido leaped backwards, away from the offending tree extensions, landing a short distance away from the cage's wall before making a deep cut on his free hand with his sword, drawing blood to create a thin, long blood whip.

The roots kept coming, and Rido prepared to cut them off for good. But then his senses suddenly registered something that made him freeze in place.

A presence. One that he knew from a long time ago and one that he never expected to come across here and now, of all places and times. 

It was close. Terribly close. _Too close for comfort._

_One slender arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him backwards. A warm body pressed against his upper back, followed by a hand._

It all took no more than a mere couple of seconds during which he remained frozen, but even such a minuscule amount of time could be fatal.

 _The fingers of the hand that was pressed to his back curled. And then they_ pushed _._

It was only when Rido felt those fingers pierce his back and claw their way into his flesh that he came out of his stunned state and regained his ability to move. Immediately, he spun around and backed away with a sharp swing of his sword, evading the roots and almost catching his opponent with the tip of his blood-made blade before he leaped backwards.

Another silence followed as Rido took a moment to recover.

"My, my, what a greeting," the man spoke a safe distance away from the walls, his face set in a faint scowl with a wry smirk playing on his lips. "You must have really missed me, my dear former betrothed."

"You must have truly gone insane to even suggest such a thing," Shizuka replied with a subtle look of distaste on her face as she regarded Rido steadily, lifting her hand to her mouth to clean her fingers off the blood that had gotten there.

Rido chuckled. "Funny to hear it from _you_ , of all people."

Shizuka failed to keep a scowl off her face. Her eyes flashed red as she replied accusingly, "I was _never_ mad, and you know it. You _were_ among those who orchestrated that entire charade in the first place."

Rido snorted. "If you say so."

Shizuka bared her fangs in a snarl. Rido almost got to her. She was _this_ close to rushing forward and attacking the man, having already begun to separate her body from the roots and branches and cherry blossom flowers she was merged with, but she managed to suppress her murderous urge at the very last second.

She inhaled and exhaled quietly, her form gradually relaxed before slowly retreating back into the flower-covered wall of her own creation, leaving only some parts of her body in view.

"I see you have learned some restraint," Rido remarked after a while. "What a let down."

"Don't worry, I won't let you stay disappointed for long," Shizuka promised, and true to her words, more roots appeared, attacking Rido ceaselessly, trying to overpower and bury the man beneath them. 

_'Shizuka-sama,'_ Maria's voice sounded in the woman's mind, _'we are ready.'_

Shizuka's form melted into the light-pink, dark-brown and a bit of green of the flowers and branches making up the cage.

 _'I will join you shortly,'_ Shizuka mentally replied before turning her attention to Kaname and speaking out loud, "I am sorry you didn't get to say goodbye, young Kuran."

Kaname's eyes widened at the words. He tensed up, his heart raced with apprehension born of creeping realization. One that Kaname immediately tried to deny with every fiber of his being.

"But you _will_ see him again when the time comes," Shizuka continued, "And until then… You can rest assured that no harm will befall either of them while in my care." Her face was the only visible part of her body now, and even that kept steadily retreating into the wall. "They are, after all, my precious children…"

And then she was gone, leaving the two purebloods alone in her cage once more.

Kaname called after the woman, but she never returned, and her makeshift prison remained intact even after Kaname tried to destroy it over and over again in his desperation to break free. At the same time, he extended his senses to locate Zero's familiar presence. Relief washed over him when he found it, but it was gone as soon as he realized that it was moving — moving _away_. Away from the academy. Away from _him_.

_'Zero…!'_

Kaname swung his sword with renewed vigor and sent another series of violent lashes of his aura that made the ground shake and created a small storm inside the cage. Still, the construction remained standing and roots only kept coming, albeit at a more moderate pace.

…And _they_ kept moving farther away. 

_'Zero!'_ kept resounding in his head.

The cage finally began to give way, but Zero's presence was already barely palpable by then. And by the time Kaname managed to break free at long last…

It had disappeared altogether, and Kaname had no idea where to look.

Still, he had to try — he couldn't not to, it was beyond his conscious control.

So he set off, searching tirelessly for hours, only to return empty-handed and completely devastated in the end.

He had failed. He had lost him.

Zero was well and truly gone now.


	34. Weeping Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** And here I am again, my lovelies *waves* As usual, it took me a bit longer to finish the chapter than I had intended, but I hope you can forgive me my tardiness — I've just been feeling really down and a little drained lately -_-;_
> 
> _But anyway, the new chapter is here. As you can see, I returned to the normal length and I'll try to keep it that way from now on too. I hope it doesn't disappoint you too much, but I need that stability in this story. Also hope you won't get too bored with this chapter, as nothing much happens here. Sorry for that *bows deeply*_
> 
> _Thank you all for your wonderful comments! They are a huge source of support and inspiration and they never fail to make my day *nods* Also thank you for your kudos! *bows again*_
> 
> _As always, disclaimer, warnings and everything else remain. All mistakes that are bound to be there are mine._
> 
> _Would be happy to hear your thoughts on this one as well._
> 
> _Hope you will enjoy reading! :D_

_He had been caught completely off guard. Everything had happened so fast he hadn't even realized what had been going on at first._

_There had been nothing but pain. Sudden, searing, piercing, paralyzing…and all-consuming. He was pretty sure it had been the most physically painful experience in his life — and one of the most terrifying ones, if he were completely honest with himself. Never before had he imagined that a bite could be so…_ deadly _._

 _Cold shivers raked him at the very memory of it, of the teeth tearing into his throat and biting off chunks of it, of surprisingly strong small hands and petite body pinning him down, of his blood flowing down his skin and soaking though his shirt, of something…_ alien _and_ cold _and downright_ revolting _invading his system, spreading its icy coldness bit by bit,_ violating _his insides and robbing him of something fundamental, something irreplaceable. It had felt as though…_

As though something inside of him had started to die, and the process could never be stopped, much less reversed.

 _It had been then that the realization had dawned on him, followed by complete numbness, fear and…_ sadness _._

_He hadn't wanted it. Not then and certainly not like that. He hadn't been ready to let go of that part of himself._

_Black had started creeping into the corners of his vision after some time. His body had weakened to the point where he had been unable to struggle anymore, and he had begun to go completely numb._

_For one very long, very terrifying moment, he had actually thought he would die. Just like that, right there and then._

_In anguish and desperation, he had tried to resume his struggles, albeit unsuccessfully._

_He knew he_ would have _died for sure had his twin not intervened._

_No words would ever be enough to properly express the amount of relief Ichiru's arrival had brought him. Seeing his little brother, being surrounded by the warmth of his embrace had immediately made him feel safe, made him believe that it would be alright, made him remember that he would never be alone._

_Weakly, he had tried to smile up at Ichiru's distraught face in a feeble attempt to calm him down somewhat, but he couldn't be sure about the result._

_All too soon, however, Ichiru's warmth had left him and that coldness had returned. He didn't really remember how it had happened, whether he had moved on his own or with someone's help, but somehow he had ended up slumped against a wall. He remembered the urge to look around and find Ichiru then, but he hadn't been able to do so — his head had been too heavy, just like the rest of his body. He could feel nothing but coldness and pain, his vision had started to fade by then, and even breathing had_ hurt _._

_Unable to do anything else, he had tried his best to speak. It had taken him several attempts, but eventually he had managed to get it right — or so he thought since he couldn't be sure about that either. Not that it even mattered. Ichiru's warmth had returned, and that alone had been more than enough._

_Numb, in pain and so very, very_ tired _, he had started slipping into unconsciousness when all of a sudden, another pair of arms had separated him from Ichiru and soon he had been enclosed in another warm embrace and looking up at another familiar face._

'Kaname…'

_He remembered the feeling of deep sadness that had welled up inside him the moment he had met those burgundy eyes. He remembered wanting to reach out and soothe the pureblood, to take the anguished expression away from his face._

_He never meant to cause Kaname so much grief. He never wanted to bring such an expression to his face._

_But he had gone and done just that, albeit unwittingly. And for that he had been sorry then and was still sorry now._

_He remembered he had wanted to convey those feelings to Kaname. He remembered he had wanted to tell the pureblood that he shouldn't be so sad, that he shouldn't worry, that it would be alright. It hadn't mattered whether or not Zero himself had believed it at the time. He had only wanted to make it better for Kaname, to just…chase that terrible sorrow away._

_It had been unbearable to watch. And it had been even more unbearable to be powerless to do anything about it. Especially so when Kaname had started apologizing to him over and over again as he had fed him his pure blood._

_The pain had gradually receded, replaced by a somewhat soothing numbness. He remembered wanting to try again then — to do something, anything at all, to make it better, to tell Kaname he didn't have to be so sad, that he had nothing to apologize so desperately for._

_Kaname's wrist had still been placed firmly over his mouth, feeding him pure blood and preventing any words from escaping._

_He remembered he had started feeling faint, growing pleasantly warm and slowly getting lulled to sleep. He had given up on talking then, but he had made one last attempt at communicating._

_He had reached up shakily and put his hand over Kaname's. He was sure he had tried to give it what he had meant as a reassuring squeeze, but he had no way of knowing whether he had actually managed to do it or not — there had been no strength left in his body anymore and it had been during those exact moments that unconsciousness had finally taken over._

_Darkness had consumed him then._

_And when he did manage to break free from its firm hold..._

_Everything suddenly seemed to be strangely different. Including himself._

Amethyst eyes blinked a few times, still drowsy from what seemed to their owner like a very long, deep slumber. 

The first and only thing in Zero's field of vision was his twin's sleeping face — a familiar sight that had naturally become such an integral part of his daily routine it just wouldn't feel _right_ without it.

Zero gave a quiet sigh, a small smile curled his lips as he watched Ichiru's relaxed features. Eventually he tried to get up, but his body just wouldn't move, too heavy for some reason. Same as his eyelids that sneakily kept trying to slide shut more and more often as lengthy seconds ticked by. Staying awake seemed like an enormous feat that Zero simply wasn't ready to perform at the moment. So he surrendered.

Closing his eyes, Zero breathed another sigh and let his form melt into the mattress anew. He could almost feel sleep's veil descend on him, and he had no qualms about letting it reclaim him. He was sure it had. For a few moments, it definitely had — he remembered darkness enveloping him once more.

Then all of a sudden, it retreated, forced away by a loud sound startlingly close to his ears.

Amethyst eyes snapped wide open, now completely awake.

Zero instinctively turned his head to the side, only to confirm lack of...well, _anything_ , really, there. He had no idea what the source of that sound could be — unless, of course, it had been only his sleepy imagination and-

_There, again._

Zero blinked, his eyes widened briefly.

_Another one, louder this time._

Silver brows furrowed. 

_Again. Again. Steady and rhythmic._

_Thud, thud. Thud, thud. Thud, thud._

Zero's focus returned to Ichiru. He felt his heart begin to race. He didn't know why, there seemed to be no apparent reason for it, but it did.

Another sound of the same nature joined, overlapping with the previous one. It was faster, more frantic.

Realization came crashing down on Zero. He froze, staring at Ichiru's sleeping face wide-eyed.

Everything stilled then, but that sound remained. It seemed to be the only thing his senses could perceive.

He knew what it was. He was sure he knew _why_ he even could hear it like that, but he wasn't ready to admit it yet. It terrified him. He needed to make sure.

So he did.

His body still felt heavy, but it didn't refuse to move anymore. Stiffly, Zero reached out one hand under their shared comforter, placing his palm flat on Ichiru's chest. It didn't take long for him to feel it, the rhythmic beat of Ichiru's heart. It was the same as the sound. Strong and steady.

Zero breathed out, his heartbeat slowed down, eventually imitating that of his twin. It now felt as though he was surrounded by that sound, and he couldn't help but find it somewhat soothing, despite being disturbed by the fact that he _wasn't supposed to be able to hear it_.

A shuddering breath left him. The corners of his mouth lifted in a weak, mirthless smile, a sad frown creased his forehead.

He closed his eyes and curled into himself, shifting closer to his counterpart.

_He remembered now._

With another shuddering breath, Zero put his arm around Ichiru and buried his face in the younger teen's chest.

 _It_ had _happened. The bite, the pain, the fear, the blood, the coldness, the darkness…_

_Yuuki..._

_Her suddenly altered aura, her bite, her red eyes…_

_Ichiru…_

_His terror, his anger, his comforting presence, his regret..._

_Kaname... His voice, his sorrow, his pain, his warmth…his_ blood _..._

Zero's hand started shaking, he gripped Ichiru's shirt tightly. He realized it was getting difficult to breathe and his pulse was quickening again. It was unnerving. He almost felt like he was going to hyperventilate.

 _It was okay. He was okay. He_ would _be._

 _It wasn't that big of a deal. It would be okay. It_ would _be._

He knew it wasn't helping. His fingers curled further, he squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to shut everything out without success. His panic kept growing.

Before it could get really bad though, Zero felt familiar warmth envelop him. Ichiru's arms were around him, holding him, grounding him, and he couldn't help but relax into the embrace. Exhaling slowly, he reciprocated the hug and leaned further into his twin.

Eventually his anxiety eased and his heartbeat calmed down. He felt sleep creep over him once more then, and he eagerly — almost desperately — welcomed it.

**-o-**

It had been three days since Rido's attack on the Cross Academy.

Abandoned by its leader and creator somewhere along the way, the Level Es army had been destroyed, having lost all coordination and fallen into complete chaos.

Left to fight against the horde of blood-crazed Level Es that had turned on them after Rido's stealthy departure, the hunters had eventually been forced into surrender. Apparently, having to fight the fallen vampires _on top_ of three best hunters of the Association had been more than they could take, and losing their President to Cross's unrelenting sword did nothing to lift their fighting spirit and overall motivation. 

Faced with a similar predicament as the hunters, the Vampire Council — whatever had been left of it at the time — had fallen as well. Its remaining members had lost their courage minutes after Ichiou's highly unexpected death at the hands of his very own grandson, and that had been the last move necessary to irreversibly turn the tables. The Council's defeat had become inevitable then.

To anyone it looked like Kaname's side had won that battle. The said pureblood himself, however, didn't feel victorious at all.

Rido had escaped. _Again._

It wasn't over. It would never be, not until Kaname found something or someone — an ally, a subordinate, a pawn, _anyone —_ strong enough to _destroy_ the man for good.

The academy had suffered serious damage that would take weeks -- best case scenario -- to get fixed.

It would stand tall again, but it wouldn't be the same anymore. It couldn't be.

But all that paled before the last outcome — the only one that truly mattered in Kaname's eyes, the only one that the pureblood had no control over, the only one that made him feel completely hopeless and utterly helpless.

_Zero was gone._

Kaname had failed. _Again_. He hadn't seen it coming, he hadn't been strong enough, he hadn't been fast enough to get his beloved back. And now he was gone.

_Taken._

They _had taken him away._

And Kaname had no idea where he was. Nor whether he was alright or not.

Kaname wanted to believe he was. Zero was strong, after all, in every possible way. He was alright. He _had to_ be. He _must_ be. 

Ichiru would have surely returned for revenge otherwise, but he hadn't. He was still away with Zero, and that was a surprisingly comforting thought. A reassuring one even.

Under different circumstances, Kaname would have laughed at the irony.

As it was now, however... There was nothing but cold numbness and gaping emptiness within him. Never before had _any_ loss felt _that_ acute, _that_ unbearable and painful. 

He should have known better. He should have seen it coming. He should have tried harder. He should have been smarter. He should have-

 _He should have_ _been_ stronger _— strong enough to protect the one he loved, strong enough to keep him by his side. He_ should be _strong enough._

…But he wasn't. So he had failed.

_And he would keep failing._

He had lost.

_And he would keep losing._

_If he didn't become stronger, if he didn't become_ strong enough _to defeat_ all _his enemies, he would only keep failing and losing. And that terrible feeling would keep returning. Over and over._

He couldn't take it. He _wouldn't_ take it — he wouldn't be able to. Not again. 

There was no other way. If he wanted to protect what was precious to him, if he _didn't_ want to fail and lose and feel the way he was feeling now _ever again_ …he had to get _better_. And he would.

…Right after the emptiness had relented enough for him to be able to begin getting back on his feet, he would.

**-o-**

Cross had been staring at a note in his hands for the last several minutes, carefully running his eyes over the words there over and over and over again.

It wasn't that long, the note. It hardly required more than a few seconds to read. Cross had, and he had had no trouble taking its contents in. Still, he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. Again and again, he read it over, absorbing every word, every letter, every punctuation mark. It was a wonder how the note was still intact and didn't have a hole in it — the man had been staring at it that hard, to the point of burning every bit of it into his brain. He didn't even need it anymore. His mind's eye could show it to him in perfect detail anytime he wanted.

The corners of the man's mouth were pulled slightly upwards, forming a small, sad smile. Honey-colored eyes were glistening with sorrow behind glasses as he reread Ichiru's last words to him yet again.

Contrary to what might be expected, the note the younger twin had left for him wasn't an angry one. Nor was it accusatory. It was a farewell message expressing feelings of gratitude and regret. Ones that Cross could tell were genuine, no matter how betrayed Ichiru had felt, how angry he had been with his legal guardian.

Cross would never forget the shock he had felt upon finding his adopted sons' room empty with no traces of their presences around. He remembered immediately thinking the worst — the terror, the panic. A part of him, though, had known even back then, and it had understood — it still did even now. On some subconscious level, he had known it would happen. He knew his adopted children — maybe not as well as he had thought and wanted to believe, but he knew them enough to predict their reactions to certain things.

Ichiru wasn't an exception. Cross had always known how fragile his younger son's trust was. He could imagine what repercussions an action even remotely considered as betrayal by Ichiru would have. But he just... He had wanted to hope that the place he had managed to get himself in Ichiru's heart would be _enough_ — to be forgiven, to get another chance, to regain his trust sometime.

He had been wrong. It wasn't enough. It was too soon to be — he hadn't reached that particular place in Ichiru's heart yet. And now there was no telling if he ever would.

His sad smile widened as he ran his eyes over the note a few more times.

"Stop torturing yourself and put the damn thing down already," came Yagari's familiar gruff voice. Cross gave a little involuntary start at it. He hadn't heard the other approach, too engrossed in his own thoughts. "We're all set to go," Yagari informed him.

Cross breathed a tired sigh before giving a nod, finally lowering the short letter and averting his gaze from it.

"…Did you find anything?" he asked as he looked sideways, his eyes landing on Yagari's back, his words stopping the man's retreat.

"…What do you mean?" the raven-haired hunter asked without turning to look at him.

"Their whereabouts." Cross knew Yagari was looking for them. There was no way he wasn't.

His words were followed by a tense silence that seemed to stretch forever.

A heavy sigh sounded. Then came Yagari's reply, "…No."

Cross breathed a sigh of his own, his eyes lowered. "I see…"

Another while of silence passed.

Yagari was the one who broke it. "Kaito is waiting. Let's go." And he walked away.

Cross lingered for a little longer. Then, breathing yet another sigh, he folded the note, placed it carefully on top of his now absent adopted sons' dresser and left the room.

 **-o-**

_He had left her._

In her new room in the Moon Dormitory, Yuuki was sitting on her bed hugging her knees to her chest, staring unseeingly ahead with glazed eyes.

_He had abandoned her._

Her wounds had long healed — at least external ones had. The same couldn't be said about internal ones.

 _He had chosen_ Zero _over_ her _. Again._

 _'He did,'_ a familiar voice that Yuuki recognized as Rido's — her _uncle's_ — confirmed. She was sure there was also a nod accompanying it. She could hear it in the man's words, in his tone.

 _He had betrayed her —_ her _, his own_ sister _, his_ family _, his_ destined one _, his_ betrothed _, the only one who truly loved him, the one who loved him the most in this world... Yet he hadn't done anything to help her, to save her, to_ protect _her from the terror she had been forced to endure at Ichiru's hands._

She knew now he had been in the middle of a battle at that time, fighting to protect the academy from their uncle. She understood he couldn't have possibly left just like that.

 _'Not for_ you _,'_ the voice taunted.

Yuuki's fingers curled, fisting the sleeves of her shirt as she hugged herself tighter. Her lips pressed together, her brows furrowed. Her natural reaction was denial, but it only served to amuse the voice — _Rido_ — further. It always did.

 _'But he didn't hesitate to leave for_ him _.'_

_Zero..._

She had bitten him. She had _turned_ him.

...She had almost _killed_ him.

And that fact terrified her.

_She hadn't meant to._

_'You did,'_ came the protest.

_She hadn't wanted it._

_'You_ did _,'_ sounded in her mind again.

 _She hadn't wished for such an outcome — she_ never _would._

 _'You_ did _and you sure_ would _,'_ the voice said, laughing, taunting, mocking. _'At least be honest with_ yourself _, little girl. Stop being such a hypocrite. It's pathetic,'_ it — Rido — scoffed.

He was wrong.

_'I am not.'_

He didn't know her, _she continued to deny._

_'Of course I do.'_

Yuuki squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, bowing her head and burying her face against her bent knees. She didn't want to hear it, she didn't want to face it.

Why was he doing it? Why was he torturing her like that?

 _Why hadn't_ he _saved her? Why hadn't_ he _helped? Why? How_ could _he…?_

_When she had been all alone, bleeding and helpless and so, so scared..._

He had left. For Zero. He had abandoned her for him. _Again._ Even now, he was doing the same, neglecting her. He hadn't talked to her, he hadn't visited her even once since that night.

_A derisive snort. 'Can you blame him? After what you did...'_

_It hadn't been her, she hadn't been herself then,_ she denied, curling into herself further, squeezing her eyes tighter and pressing her hands against her ears harder. _It hadn't been her. It had been-_

 _'Me?'_ Rido scoffed. _'Really? Is that what you_ still _want to believe?'_

_It was the truth-_

_'You know it's not.'_

Yuuki's eyes blinked open as she lifted her head and removed her hands from her ears.

 _But..._ he _..._

 _'_ I _merely gave you a choice and provided you with an opportunity._ You _are the one who did the rest.'_

_No, she-_

_'You are. You_ did _.'_

 _'But_ you _-'_ Yuuki tried to deny again, unsuccessfully.

 _'Don't go pinning everything on me, dear niece. You can't use me as an excuse forever. You can't fool_ yourself _forever.'_

Yuuki's frown returned. Slowly, she hugged her knees anew. _'What…?'_

Rido gave a deep chuckle. _'Come now, no need to pretend. It's just you and me,'_ he said silkily, waiting a few moments before continuing, _'Ah, no, that's not quite right. It's just_ you _. There is no need to lie to_ yourself _, is there?'_

Yuuki's fingers involuntarily clenched around her upper arms, her frown deepened.

 _Just_ her _…?_

_'Yes,_ just you _.'_

_'But you are here too…'_

_'…Am I?'_

She was completely lost now.

' _Or am I just a convenient figment of your imagination?'_ Rido pressed on. Or was it him? Was it really her uncle?

_No, it had to be. There was no one else._

_'Isn't there? Really?'_

Yuuki inhaled and exhaled shakily, her fingers dug into her upper arms through her sleeves. It seemed different all of a sudden. The voice. She thought it had changed a bit. To something less low, less deep and smooth, less… _masculine_.

_'Are you absolutely sure?'_

There, it had changed further, slowly becoming higher — more _feminine_ , more…like _her own_ …

A chuckle- no, a _giggle_ came next. Brown eyes widened, Yuuki froze.

 _'Are you sure…that it's_ him _that you're talking to…and not_ me _…?'_ said _her_ — _Yuuki's_ — voice in an unfamiliar tone she didn't know it could take.

It terrified her.

Yuuki didn't answer it. She bowed her head, pressed her forehead against her knees, squeezed her eyes shut and hugged herself tighter as she desperately tried to will it away. 

_It wasn't real, it wasn't her,_ she kept denying in her head over and over.

_It wasn't her._

_It couldn't be._

**-o-**

Unable to stay locked in his room any longer yet reluctant to be near anyone, Kaname went outside to take a walk.

He wandered around the academy grounds undisturbed — mainly owing to his heavily suffocating aura that warned everyone away. There wasn't any particular destination that he had in mind. There really wasn't. His body, however, thought differently, and it had no trouble deciding on one for him.

He was bitterly unsurprised to find himself in front of Cross's house — familiar and unchanged yet so different in his eyes now. The sight of it brought a grim sense of deja vu, reminding him of the last time he had stood in the same place, ready to enter but never getting to make it past the front door. He would give anything to return into that moment in time, but he knew it was an impossible wish. The outcome couldn't be changed, and he had to pay for his mistakes.

With a sigh, Kaname slowly walked forward and entered the house, finding it deafeningly quiet and empty.

 _'Ah...right...'_ he thought absently, only then remembering Takuma saying something about Cross, Yagari and Kaito having to go to the Hunter Association a few hours ago. He supposed the three had decided to get it done and over with sooner rather than later.

Mentally apologizing for trespassing, Kaname closed the door and followed a familiar path to Zero and Ichiru's now former room.

It still had traces of their presence. Kaname could feel them there — it hadn't been that long, after all.

And Cross. Kaname could tell the man had been in that room before his departure for the Association.

Burgundy eyes shifted towards a dresser, attracted by Zero's Bloody Rose lying on top of it. Kaname approached the piece of furniture, his hand automatically extended towards the gun, his fingers running over its cold surface, tracing its familiar lines for no more than a second before retreating, warned away by a small electric shock. His gaze shifted slightly to the side then, falling on a folded sheet of paper next to the gun.

 _'A note,'_ Kaname realized as he picked it up and unfolded it. _'A farewell note. From Ichiru-kun,'_ he concluded next after reading it. He let his eyes linger on it for another couple of seconds before folding it anew and placing it back. A soft sigh escaped him as he turned away to take a look around the room. His gaze stopped on the bed, and he approached it and sat down on its edge, his palm landing flat on one of the pillows before slowly trailing down, eventually coming to a stop near the center of the mattress.

Letting out another sigh, Kaname slowly lowered himself onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow. He took a deep breath, and his body automatically relaxed, its tenseness soothed by the traces of Zero's familiar scent. His fingers clutched the edge of the pillow tightly as he curled slightly into himself and inhaled deeply once more, exhaling slowly, almost reluctantly, ridiculously unwilling to part with that scent.

Kaname ended up spending the entire night like that, only then finally managing to get a few measly hours of sleep for the first time in days.

 **-o-**

It was only when he woke up a second time that Zero realized he hadn't the slightest idea where he was.

An unfamiliar ceiling, unfamiliar walls, drapes, bed — everything but Ichiru was. Zero confirmed it when he sat up and looked around the undeniably unfamiliar room for the first time since opening his eyes anew. He had to wonder how on earth he had missed it before.

A little frown creased Zero's brow. 

He knew for sure they weren't inside any of the rooms in Cross's house. Nor did their surroundings look like anything close to the Moon Dorms, and lack of familiar vampire presences confirmed it. 

Zero's frown deepened at the realization that he really had no clue where on earth he was, and the fact that his senses seemed to be no help in figuring that out didn't alleviate his unease. He would have started to freak out already, if it weren't for his still sleeping twin's presence by his side.

Careful not to disturb Ichiru, Zero climbed out of the bed and approached one of the curtained windows. He nudged the drapes open and looked outside, cautiously at first, then pushed the cloth all the way to the side to get a full view of the scenery. His eyes widened.

It was beautiful, the sight he was met with. Undeniably and uniquely so — breathtaking even. It was something Zero had never thought could even exist in this world.

A whole forest of cherry blossom trees blooming abundantly in snow, made even more beautiful than it already was by pale moonlight.

Zero honestly thought he was hallucinating at first, but the sight didn't disappear even after minutes had passed. He exhaled a shuddering breath, his shoulders dropped as tension seeped out of his body. For a long time, he remained standing by the window, mesmerized by the view outside. He didn't even hear his twin get up and come up behind him.

"How are you feeling?" Ichiru asked quietly, and Zero gave a small start, blinking several times as he came out of his daze.

Turning his head to look at his counterpart, the older teen asked, "Where are we?" 

Ichiru breathed a quiet sigh. "You didn't answer my question," he remarked.

"You didn't answer mine," Zero shot back.

But Ichiru was stubborn. "How are you feeling?" he repeated the question slowly.

Zero was stubborn too, but he rarely could win this battle against his brother. This time marked another one of his defeats.

"...Fine, I guess," Zero answered a little reluctantly after a short while of silence. "Considering..." he trailed off with a shrug, looking away and unconsciously hugging himself with one arm. An uneasy silence followed. It lasted for a few long moments before Zero shook his head and returned his gaze to Ichiru. "Where _are_ we?" he asked again.

Ichiru gave his twin a long, steady look. He didn't say anything for a while. Then, letting out another sigh, he moved past Zero towards the wall and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest as he gazed out the window.

"…I don't know the exact location myself," Ichiru finally answered.

Zero frowned. "What do you mean you _don't know_?" 

Ichiru shrugged. "I can only say that we're a long way from the academy."

That Zero could tell. The scenery outside suggested as much. "Why?"

"Because it's safer that way."

"What do you mean?"

Ichiru shrugged again, still not meeting his twin's worriedly inquiring gaze as he answered, "Exactly what I said."

"Ichiru."

No response.

"Ichiru, look at me," Zero requested in a quiet but unusually firm tone, " _please_ ," he added a short while later when his counterpart showed no reaction to his words.

A heavy sigh indicated Ichiru's defeat. He turned to Zero.

A long silence ensued as the twins stared at each other wordlessly. 

Zero was the one who eventually broke it. "Ichiru, what-…" he started, but faltered. He had to take a moment to find the courage — something that he _shouldn't_ need for such a simple task — to ask his next question that he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "…What did you do?"

Another while of silence passed before Ichiru decided to speak.

"I made a deal…with _that woman_."

Zero's eyes widened. For some reason, only one name crossed his mind at those words, and only one image flashed through his head.

"She takes us under her protection and makes us stronger..." Ichiru had to pause briefly to inconspicuously draw in a nervous breath. He was loath to admit it, but he feared his twin's reaction, feared the possibility of rejection, because just this once, he didn't feel certain of the outcome at all. "And I will help her execute her revenge."

Amethyst eyes grew wider again. "W-what...?" Then a frown came over Zero's features as his surprise gave way to more confusion. 'Protection'? 'Stronger'? _'Revenge'_...? What on earth was that all about? "Ichiru, what are you talking about? What-" he halted with a shake of his head, resuming after a brief pause, " _Why_ would you do such a thing?"

"Why?" Ichiru repeated with a frown of his own. "Because it's better that way. For us." That much should be obvious.

"What about Cross? What about Yagari-shishou? The academy? The Association?" _What about their life? The people in it...?_

Ichiru shrugged. "They will be perfectly fine without us."

"That's not what I meant."

Ichiru sighed. "I know," he replied, lowering his gaze.

A long silence fell between them.

Another sigh left Ichiru. "...I'm not going back, nii-san," he said, looking up at his older brother, an uneasy frown marring his face. "I can't trust them. I can't trust _Cross_ anymore." 

"But you can trust _her_?" Zero asked incredulously.

"No," Ichiru replied without missing a beat, "but right now staying with her holds more benefits."

"You can't be serious," Zero's tone was almost pleading, same as the look in his eyes. His shoulders involuntarily slumped in defeat. "Ichiru-"

"I _am_ serious, nii-san," Ichiru interjected before Zero could try to reason with him, which he knew was exactly what his twin was about to do. "And nothing you say will change my decision. It _is_ better this way."

Zero shook his head. "You're not thinking straight."

"I am," Ichiru insisted stubbornly. 

"Please, Ichiru, let's just-"

"And there is no turning back," Ichiru continued, interrupting his twin again. He pushed away from the wall and slowly walked past Zero towards the double doors. "You don't have to stay," he said as he came to a stop and put his hand on the brass handle before looking over his shoulder to meet Zero's wide-eyed gaze. "I want you to, but I won't force you." He wasn't lying. It was killing him to say it and he felt sick just thinking of Zero very possibly choosing to leave, but he meant every word. "…It's entirely up to you, nii-san."

His only response was stunned silence.

Ichiru held his twin's gaze for another few moments, then turned away, pushed the brass handle down, pulled the door open and left.

Zero watched the door close after Ichiru with a click, soft yet impossibly loud in the now deafening silence. With a shuddering breath escaping him, he slumped to the floor and leaned back against the wall behind him, hugging his drawn up knees loosely, weakly almost. He blinked dazedly, his eyes unseeing.

 _It was too much. Everything that had happened — that_ was _happening — was too much to take in. He couldn't think. He didn't even_ want _to._

Zero's eyes slid shut and his head dropped forward heavily, one of his hands went up to run through his hair. His fingers curled, gripping silver locks almost painfully tight. He exhaled a long, shaky sigh.

He wished it were all just a dream. A _bad, messed up_ dream. He _needed_ it to be.

…It was too bad that such wishes almost never came true.


	35. Unforgotten Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** Hello, my dearests! *waves* Yes, I'm back again, and a little bit earlier than expected, I think. I actually could have done it sooner, but I got a bit lazy for a few days somewhere along the way, thus the result._
> 
> _Oh, well. Here is the new chapter. Definitely not my finest work, but I still hope it won't be a total disappointment to you lovelies *prays*_
> 
> _Once again, thank you for the kudos and most of all, for your wonderful, amazing, inspiring comments! You have no idea how happy each and every single one of them made me. Really, thank you, dearests *bows deeply*_
> 
> _And we all know the drill. Disclaimer stands, warnings and so on remain the same. All mistakes that are definitely there are mine and mine alone._
> 
> _Would be delighted to hear from you later._
> 
> _Hope you will enjoy reading! :D_

_A pale hand extended towards Ichiru._

_"Come, dear child," Shizuka called. "You need to feed."_

_Ichiru turned his head sideways to look towards the door the pureblood woman was standing at. He regarded her for a long moment._

_"I don't need it," he said as he returned his gaze to his sleeping twin. Reaching out, he gently stroked Zero's hair, his hand lingered on the older teen's head for a bit before shifting to his cheek and then forehead. He knew he shouldn't be worried — it was silly to be. Zero was strong, he would be alright, he would get through the transformation. Ichiru knew he would. He shouldn't be worried. It was totally unnecessary — he knew, he really did._

_Still, he couldn't help it. He_ was _worried. He couldn't_ not be _. So he kept checking his much stronger older brother for any signs of a fever as well as anything else that might be off. There had been none of that so far, thankfully. But he still needed to make sure — to keep making sure._

_Ichiru breathed a quiet sigh of relief._

It still seemed to be okay. Zero wasn't in pain.

_"But you do," Shizuka insisted softly, pulling Ichiru out of his musings. It took the teen an extra couple of seconds to recall what exactly they were talking about._

_Ichiru frowned at the woman's persistence. "I'm not hungry."_

_"Of course you are. Our thirst never ceases. You should know that by now."_

_He did. Very well. Still…_

_"I don't want your blood."_

_A sad smile tugged at the corners of Shizuka's mouth. Her gaze turned sympathetic as she regarded Ichiru. "I know," she said. "But you will have to bear with it for the time being." Pink eyes turned to Zero for a contemplative moment, her smile vanished, leaving only quiet sadness in its wake. "…For both your sakes."_

_Ichiru breathed a long sigh, unconsciously stroking Zero's hair again._

_"…Can't it wait?" he asked after a while of silence._

_"I'm afraid not. I will have to leave soon, and I won't be back for some time," Shizuka informed, surprising the younger twin._

_Ichiru turned to the pureblood once more, blinking, his eyes widened a fraction as he asked, "How long?"_

_"A week. Perhaps a little longer."_

_"I see…" Ichiru trailed off. He thought about inquiring further, but realized he didn't really care enough to do so. It was none of his business anyway. So he let it be._

_"Come," Shizuka called again, slowly turning around in the doorway. "There is something I need to show you before I leave."_

_A small frown creased Ichiru's features briefly. He had to admit he got a bit curious. But he was still reluctant to leave. His expression as he pressed his lips together and threw a glance at his twin made it obvious._

_"Don't worry about your brother. Maria will stay here to watch over him," Shizuka tried to reassure Ichiru._

_The attempt wasn't very successful, as it only made Ichiru narrow his eyes at the mentioned girl who had been silently standing by Shizuka's side since the very beginning of their conversation._

_Maria couldn't help flinching slightly at the suspicious look Ichiru gave her. Her gaze dropped, her small hand involuntarily clutched the folds of Shizuka's kimono as she unconsciously shifted a little closer to her relative. Shizuka's hand slowly rose, gracefully landing on Maria's shoulder. Pink eyes never left Ichiru._

_"No need to be so hostile, dear child. Maria is a friend. She has no ill intentions towards either of you. I promise."_

_Shizuka's words weren't enough to ease Ichiru's concerns. He hesitated for a long while, but decided to comply with the pureblood's request in the end._

_Throwing one last worried glance at Zero, Ichiru reluctantly got up and left his twin's side, following Shizuka out of the room._

**-o-** __

Zero didn't know how much time had passed since Ichiru had left. It felt like hours, but he couldn't be sure. He couldn't be sure about anything anymore.

Even after spending a very long while reflecting on the recent changes that had come crashing down on him in what felt like a single night, he still couldn't quite sort everything out and grasp his suddenly changed reality. 

He had been bitten. He had been turned.

Zero's fingers involuntarily curled, clutching his upper arms tighter at the thought.

_Right. He had been turned,_ Zero reminded himself. _He had been turned._ The words kept going through his head again and again.

_He wasn't human anymore. That part of him was lost forever. It had been taken. It had disappeared. It had_ died _a quiet, lonely, imperceptible death while he had been unable to realize it happen in his unconscious state._

_He wasn't human,_ Zero repeated in his head, but the words refused to sink in. It seemed too surreal to be true, it was too sudden and incomprehensible to accept.

_He was a vampire now._

Zero's eyebrows furrowed in a thoughtful frown, he hugged himself a little tighter.

He was a vampire...and he still wasn't sure how he felt about that change. He didn't know, he couldn't tell.

He had never entertained the idea, never even considered the possibility. He might have been secretly curious about some aspects of vampire life, but he had always been content with being himself.

_A human._

_A hunter._ __

The former was gone. And the latter… Was he still one? Would he still be able to be one? Would he be _allowed_ to be one? A hunter, he meant.

He doubted it. After everything that had happened, it was hard to believe the Association would simply accept him. Not that he could blame them. It was a normal, expected, _right_ way of thinking. Yagari and Kaito had always been the only ones willing to somewhat ignore that same 'right way' for Ichiru's sake, and Zero had always been immensely grateful for it. It was important. Not just to him, but to Ichiru as well, although the latter would never admit it even to himself.

But Zero knew. He knew for sure Ichiru would have been hurt by Yagari's rejection. By Kaito's, too, difficult as it was to believe. Their older friend might be an insufferable ass, but he still was an important presence in their lives, and Zero didn't want that to change. He didn't want to lose him. He didn't want to lose either of them, and he could only hope that it was the same for the two hunters, that they would be able and willing to find it in themselves to accept him, even if he wasn't…quite _himself_ anymore.

He knew he wasn't. He could feel it, although he wasn't sure what exactly had changed. The world around him seemed different somehow. It _felt_ different — uncomfortably so. He couldn't help but find it somewhat weird. Foreign. Confusing. His perception of it had changed somehow, even though he still couldn't tell what exactly _was_ so different now. 

He wondered if it had been the same for Ichiru after he had been turned. His twin hadn't told him much about the changes he had gone through — only about the outcome they had brought, never about the experience itself, and Zero had chosen not to pry beyond the normal questions about his twin's general physical condition. He had let Ichiru decide whether to share that bit of information or not. Ichiru had chosen not to, so now Zero had to make sense of what was happening on his own as well.

A soft sigh escaped him as he rose to his feet for the first time in a long while. He turned around and looked out the window once more, only to find the same beautiful, serene scenery as before. It was nice. It was mesmerizing, without a shadow of a doubt. It was...

_Foreign. Unfamiliar. Lonely._

It reminded him how far — and he was sure it must be pretty far — away he was from the second place he had come to consider home.

It also reminded him of his first home. He remembered it had been warm and cozy and very, very welcoming. He remembered being happy there, living as a family with Ichiru and their parents. He remembered Yagari coming to visit and spending time with them. He even remembered Kaito, still a teen, but already a royal ass.

Their older friend had visited them a few times when he had been temporarily training under Yagari in the absence of his own master. He had already been a bullying bastard even back then, and Ichiru couldn't stand him. He had retired to his room about ten minutes into Kaito's visit each and every time without fail. Zero was sure he had always followed, but there was a memory of one time when he hadn't gone right away, staying for a bit instead. He didn't know why he had done it, he couldn't — and surely wouldn't be able to, no one would — remember now, but he had lingered, only to witness one of the most surprising sights in his life. A polite Kaito. A polite, docile and extremely flustered Kaito — the one that had made himself known the moment Zero's parents had entered the room. Apparently, Kaito had always been their fan of sorts, thus the sudden change in his usual attitude, or so Zero had been told later — by Yagari, he believed.

Zero remembered he had been puzzled — to say the least — back then. Thinking back to it now though, he couldn't help but find Kaito's behavior highly amusing. And a little cute. He still waited for an opportunity to tease the hell out of the older hunter about it.

...Zero remembered being happy in that place, even if his brother might not fully agree with him.

To Ichiru, that house had been a prison, one where his _'former weak, pathetic self'_ , as Ichiru unfairly referred to his childhood self, had been meant to _'rot and die'_.

To Zero, however... It had been home. His home. _Their_ home. Their _family home_. It had been a special place. It still was even now. It held his happiest, saddest and most terrifying memories. It had witnessed his weaknesses, his failures as a brother and a son, his mistakes, his _betrayal_. It would never forget, and neither would he.

…The scenery outside reminded Zero of all that and more. Of happiness, warmth, sadness, loss, grief, regret…

_Every now and again, Zero couldn't help but wonder when everything had started to change._

_…_ of his parents, of their time as a family…

_When? Why? How had it all gone so wrong…?_

…of the day he and Ichiru had met Hiou Shizuka for the very first time.

He remembered leading Ichiru away upon sensing the woman's presence. He hadn't known about her pureblood nature — he still hadn't known what a pureblood was supposed to feel like back then. But he had known about her being a vampire, and a strong one at that. Very strong, and just as dangerous. He remembered he had been apprehensive, so he had chosen to stay away.

It had been different for Ichiru. He hadn't sensed her, so he hadn't known why Zero had been so bothered by her presence. Zero had told him, but even then Ichiru hadn't grown wary, only more intrigued. Still, he had complied and let Zero lead him away, but Zero knew now it hadn't ended at that.

He hadn't seen Hiou Shizuka after that. Not even once. He had felt her presence somewhere far away several times, but he hadn't met her anymore. Now he couldn't even recall her face clearly — he had seen her once a long time ago, after all, so the details had long become a blur by now. Only impressions remained relatively strong.

Something had changed on that day. Zero hadn't realized it then, naturally, but looking back at it now, he knew it had. _Ichiru_ had, if only slightly — he had _started_ changing bit by bit. 

Then, not too long after, _that night_ had come. It had taken everything from him — his parents, his warm and happy home, his life as he had known it. And together with all that, somewhere along the way, he knew some part of both Ichiru and himself had been lost as well.

It hadn't been the same anymore. _They_ hadn't been the same since then. They had been given a new family and a new home, a new life. It had been nice. Their new home had been warm and welcoming, same as their new family. They had been happy there. It hadn't been the same as before, but they — _Zero_ , at the very least, although he was certain Ichiru hadn't been any different — had been happy in that place they now knew as their second home. It had been new, but not entirely so. A part of their previous life had followed them into their new one. A very important, precious part represented by Yagari and Kaito.

Their master hadn't changed much, nor had his attitude towards them. And Kaito... He had stayed pretty much the same too, save for added curses, disapproving remarks, mostly empty threats and occasional half-assed attempts on Ichiru's life. Not that different from his usual bullying, insufferable asshole self. It couldn't be helped — it was in his nature, and Kaito simply wouldn't be Kaito without those _splendid_ qualities of his. Sure enough, they had always been annoying, and Zero remembered more than just several occasions when he had wanted to strangle the life out of his older friend, but he still had been grateful to both Yagari and Kaito for _staying_. For staying their usual selves and for staying _with_ them. They had been their — _his_ mostly, he guessed — connection to the long lost happy times from the past. They had kept him from _forgetting_. 

So had Cross. He had been a part of their previous life too, albeit hardly as regular as Yagari or even Kaito. Still, it had made the unknown less scary and brought some bit of familiarity to their suddenly altered environment. It had probably been that which had helped Zero accept the change and adjust to their new life better.

Zero had liked their new family. It would never be able to replace their old one, of course, but it still had been nice. It had made him happy. He had liked it, he had liked their new life and all the people in it. Yagari, Kaito, Cross, Yuuki…

…Kaname…

Zero's eyes lowered thoughtfully as the pureblood's face flashed through his mind. His hand involuntarily went up to his neck, his fingers rubbed it absently. It suddenly felt…weird, uncomfortable… _itchy_ , for lack of a better word. He was quick to dismiss the foreign sensation though, distracted by his thoughts.

Zero couldn't say he remembered the last time he had seen Kaname very clearly. The memory itself was a bit of a blur, but he still could recall bits and pieces. He had just been bitten. He had been in pain, confused, shocked and dizzy. There had been only Yuuki and Ichiru at first, then Kaname had joined them. Zero was sure there had been some sort of a struggle — he didn't recall it, but he somehow had that impression. And the next thing he remembered...was Kaname's face.

In that memory, Kaname was looking down at him with the saddest expression Zero had ever seen the pureblood wear. It never failed to make Zero's chest clench no matter how many times he recalled it. It did so now too.

Zero wondered how Kaname was faring. Was he okay? Was he worried? Was he still sad about the incident? Did he blame himself for it? He always did it, after all. Whatever happened, he somehow tended to think it was all his fault, even if it wasn't true.

Did he know he shouldn't blame himself? Did he know it was okay? Did he know that _Zero_ was okay? That he was unharmed? But more importantly...

...Was he even okay with Zero the way he was _now_...?

It was probably a stupid question. Zero realized that, but he couldn't help it. The way Kaname had looked at him back then... _All that sadness, all that regret..._ They made Zero feel uncertain.

...What would Kaname think of him? Would he be able to accept him as-…as a _vampire_ …?

Zero's fingers unconsciously moved over his neck, clutching it, while his free arm rose to wrap around his middle. He stayed that way for a few long moments, thoughtful, but then his eyes widened slightly and he froze as a very belated realization struck him.

There was no wound. No torn skin. Not even a bitemark remained. His neck was completely free of all that, at least so it felt to his fingers. Where there would normally be a still unhealed wound, there was nothing. It had closed. Completely. As though it had never been there in the first place.

Zero's face twisted into a frown, his fingers curled over the side of his neck, he tensed, hugging himself tighter.

There was no trace left, but he could still feel it all. The fangs, the piercing pain… The ghost of it still lingered, and it only got more persistent the longer Zero touched it. It hurt. It was burning.

_He felt sick. He couldn't breathe._

Zero squeezed his eyes shut and doubled over, panting. His hand left his neck to lean heavily on the windowsill for support. Zero felt his chest tighten, his heart hammering in it. His frown deepened as he tried to will the memories of the bite away from his mind.

For a while, his heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat were the only sounds Zero could hear. It took him some time, but he eventually managed to calm down.

Amethyst eyes slowly slid open, blinking. Zero's features relaxed, his frown gradually smoothed away. He released a long breath, then slowly lifted his head and straightened, his gaze focused on the scenery outside once more. He inhaled deeply and exhaled evenly, again and again, until his surroundings returned to normal and all phantom sensations vanished.

It was okay. He was fine. He would get through this. He-

_They_ would. Together. Like they had done so far, like they always did.

Zero let out a deep sigh as he recalled the words Ichiru had said before leaving.

There had never been any choice for him to make to begin with. 

**-o-**

In another room of the same mansion, Ichiru remained seated on a windowsill for hours. His gaze was directed out the window, seemingly locked on the beautiful view of cherry blossom trees, but his eyes were unseeing and completely unappreciative of the undeniably breathtaking sight.

"…Was it really okay?" came Maria's quiet, hesitant voice.

A weary sigh left Ichiru at the question. Without looking away from the window, he asked in response, "What do you mean?"

"Leaving Zero-kun like that..."

A few moments of silence passed. When Maria was sure she wouldn't get a reply, she tried again.

"He must need you now, Ichiru-kun."

Ichiru gave another sigh. "What he needs is to make a choice," he replied, only then turning to look at his companion, "and I'm letting him do it on his own."

A faint frown creased the girl's forehead. " _Is_ there really a choice to make?"

Ichiru arched an inquiring eyebrow.

Maria hesitated, her fingers curled in her lap, clutching the fabric of her skirt lightly. "You already know what Zero-kun's answer will be."

Ichiru allowed himself a small, wry smile. "Do I now?"

Maria's frown deepened slightly. She struggled to comprehend the expression on the other's face. It made something in her chest tighten and rendered her unable to speak. Ichiru turned away after a few moments, but Maria continued to study him carefully.

It was only after a long while that she finally managed to catch it.

_Doubt._

_Uncertainty._

_Fear. Worry._

_Sadness._

_Regret._

_Dejection._

_More fear, more worry, more doubt still._

Ichiru was drowning in those negative emotions. They were all over him, making his usually relaxed posture impossibly rigid, his face stiff, his muscles tense, his aura suffocatingly dark and bitingly cold. The changes in his demeanor were quietly subtle, imperceptible almost, but they were there. Maria could see them now after looking hard enough.

The girl's frown deepened further. She honestly couldn't begin to understand what exactly Ichiru was thinking and why, what made him feel so painfully insecure about his current situation.

"...You know Zero-kun would never leave you," Maria said after a long pause.

Ichiru let out a bitter snort. "I wonder about that..." he replied with a sad, somewhat pained even, smile.

Maria could only blink at Ichiru, frowning with genuine puzzlement. She didn't say anything after that, and neither did Ichiru.

The girl stayed in the room for another while, then quietly got up and left. Ichiru never noticed her go, just like he didn't notice more time pass as he continued to stare indifferently out the window. It might have been mere minutes, might have been hours. Ichiru didn't know, neither did he care. He hardly even registered what was before him, until…

Lilac eyes blinked, widening as they focused on a familiar form that had appeared out of nowhere, attracting Ichiru's attention.

_Zero._

He was outside now, standing in the snow watching the cherry blossom trees up close. Ichiru's first instinct was to run up to his twin, and he automatically got off the windowsill to do exactly that, but then he stopped, uncharacteristically hesitant all of a sudden. The moment of uncertainty didn't last for very long though, and, cursing softly under his breath, Ichiru quickly made his way outside after grabbing some outer garments for Zero and himself, reaching his counterpart's side in no time.

"Nii-san!" Ichiru called as he approached Zero with brisk strides while pulling a coat on. "What the hell do you think you're doing here dressed like that?" he demanded scoldingly with a disapproving frown, draping another coat he had brought over his brother's shoulders. "Honestly," he grumbled under his breath, pulling the coat closed, "what were you thinking...?" It wasn't a question Ichiru expected an answer to, but his twin gave him one anyway.

"I was curious," Zero said after a brief while of silence.

It was only then that Ichiru met Zero's eyes for the first time. Frowning anew, he asked, "About what?"

"About…" Zero trailed off, lowering his gaze in contemplation. After a short pause, he shrugged and resumed speaking, "I don't know. Whether it would still feel the same?" he finished uncertainly, looking up at his counterpart.

" _'It'_ being...?"

Another shrug, followed by another answer that ended up sounding like a question instead. "Everything?"

It was met with a raised eyebrow. "And?"

"It's cold."

Ichiru gave a snort. "No kidding." He shook his head, his gaze lowering briefly. Chagrined amusement glinted in his eyes when he locked them with Zero's anew before asking, "Why did you think I kept wearing coats?"

"Force of habit?" Zero offered, eliciting an amused chuckle and another shake of the head from the younger twin.

"Now you know it wasn't."

Zero nodded, "Mm."

The two lapsed into silence — comfortable at first, increasingly disconcerting as time went by. At least so it felt to Ichiru. Uncharacteristically, he couldn't help feeling anxious under Zero's steady gaze. It was frustrating, to say the least.

"Um, we should get back inside," Ichiru suggested, averting his gaze as he took Zero's hand and pivoted around. "It's too cold to be outside in these." He gestured vaguely to their relatively flimsy — considering the weather — outfits before making towards the mansion, only to be stopped mid-step by a gentle tug on his hand.

Ichiru turned to Zero, their gazes locking once more. A few moments of silence passed, then Zero spoke.

"I want to go back," he said.

Ichiru involuntarily tensed. He tried not to show it, but he was scared. With bated breath, he waited for his twin to continue.

After an excruciatingly long moment, Zero did, "But I can't leave you here alone."

There was no way Zero could do it. He couldn't leave. He couldn't _abandon_ Ichiru, he couldn't _betray_ him like that. Never. Most certainly not while Ichiru still needed him by his side. Not while Zero himself still wasn't _ready_ to be apart from his other half. It was simply unimaginable to him. There was just no way he could leave his twin behind.

Ichiru secretly breathed a sigh of relief. 

"I still want to see them," Zero continued. "I want to say goodbye. Properly."

"You will," Ichiru agreed hurriedly with a nod.

Amethyst eyes lit up with hope, Zero stepped closer to his other half. "Then-"

"When it's safe to go back there."

Zero's shoulders dropped. He frowned. "And _when_ will it be?"

"…Just give it some time," Ichiru implored after a while. "Please."

Another bout of silence ensued as Zero contemplated Ichiru's words. Then, with a long sigh…

"…Okay," Zero surrendered. "I will wait. But once you're done with this… _arrangement_ …" He squeezed Ichiru's hand. "We will go home together."

Ichiru squeezed Zero's hand back, his tense expression softened as a small, warm smile graced his lips.

"Mm," the younger of the two nodded, stepping closer to his counterpart and taking his other hand. "We will." He leaned forward and touched his forehead to Zero's. A deep sigh escaped him, his eyes slid shut and his shoulders drooped. He felt terribly tired all of a sudden, albeit in a somewhat nice way.

A whispered _'Thank you'_ was the last thing that left Ichiru's lips before a comfortable silence enveloped the two. They stayed that way for a bit longer, then slowly made their way inside the mansion.

**-o-**

"I guess that's about it," Takuma said as he turned to Kaname with a small smile. "We're all set to go."

Kaname nodded. "Good. Let me know when you get there. And feel free to contact me if you need my assistance with anything."

Takuma took a moment to regard his friend, his smile turned somewhat sympathetic as he asked, "Are you sure about this? Maybe it would be better if-"

"I'm sure," Kaname uncharacteristically interrupted the noble, not letting him finish. "I will stay here for a little longer."

"I see..." Takuma breathed a soft sigh. "I hope you will be able to find them soon then."

Kaname gave another nod. 

"Yuuki-chaaaaan!" a loud cry sounded, immediately attracting the two vampires' attention to its overly dramatic source. Unsurprisingly, it was Cross. "My cute little daughter is leaving me too now! The world is so unfair!" the retired hunter wailed with crocodile tears rolling down his cheeks as he squeezed Yuuki in a bear hug.

"Uh, C-chairman, p-please calm down." Yuuki half-hugged her adopted father while trying to put some distance between them. Even a tiny bit would do. She was being _suffocated_ there.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, the girl finally managed to get it right — or rather, Cross let her pull away a little. Looking up at the man with a warm, bittersweet smile, she continued, "We will see each other again soon. I promise."

Cross sniffed back more tears. "Of course we will!" he exclaimed, hugging Yuuki tighter. "I won't have it any other way!" And more wailing and hugs followed. Yuuki kept trying to calm the man down, but to no avail. 

Takuma couldn't help chuckling, amused by the comical yet undeniably heartwarming scene before him. His merriment was forgotten after a few moments though, as his attention was drawn away from Cross and Yuuki by a slight movement on the edge of his vision.

Takuma's emerald eyes widened when he saw Kaname turn around to leave without seeing Yuuki off. He frowned. "Aren't you going to-?"

"I can't," Kaname interrupted his friend again. "Not yet." He looked over his shoulder, catching Yuuki's gaze for the first time. He let eye contact last for a couple of seconds before breaking it as he turned away and continued his way towards the Moon Dorms. "Take care of her, Takuma."

The noble's lips stretched further in a sad smile. "I will," he replied with a small bow, following Kaname's retreating back with his eyes until the pureblood's form disappeared from sight.

Not so far away from him, Yuuki was doing the same, watching sadly as her beloved brother and prince left her without so much as bidding her a proper goodbye. Her shoulders sagged, gaze lowered. She felt a prickle of uninvited tears behind her eyes. She fisted her hands and pressed her lips together, doing her best not to cry. She probably would have failed, had it not been for a comforting hand that was suddenly placed on her shoulder.

Giving a small start, Yuuki lifted her gaze, blinking up at a pair of kind, compassionate honey-colored eyes.

"Don't worry, Yuuki-chan, Kaname-kun will come around," Cross said with a warm, albeit a little sad, smile. "Just give it time. It will be okay."

Yuuki blinked again. It took the words a few long moments to sink in, and once they did, a small smile pulled the corners of the girl's lips upwards. "Thank you, Chairman," she said, her eyes bright with genuine gratitude. "For everything." She hugged her adopted father who was only too happy to reciprocate the gesture.

"Remember that you're always welcome here," Cross said after a while of comfortable silence, only then releasing Yuuki from his warm embrace. "You can visit whenever you want. And if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I will be happy to help."

Yuuki gave a nod, her smile widened, grateful and happy yet sad at the same time. It was a bittersweet change for her. She was reluctant to leave, but a part of her was still eager to see what awaited her in her new life now that her true identity had finally been restored. She only wished she wasn't the only one thinking that way. She wished Kaname could feel the same, but she knew it wasn't possible. At least not yet.

Taking a step backwards, Yuuki gave Cross a slight bow and thanked him once more, then graced him with one last smile, turned around and headed for a car waiting for her at the academy gates. Takuma followed suit, bidding the Chairman farewell with a smile and a nod.

Cross watched his dear adopted daughter leave, a sad smile never leaving his face. He remained by the gates for a few more minutes, then turned around to head home. He didn't make it far though, brought to a halt by a familiar voice of Kaito.

"We're supposed to hunt her down, not send her to the safety of her very own castle to live happily ever after, you know," the young hunter said accusingly, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned against a tree in a deceptively relaxed manner. "Yet here you are, setting a _criminal_ free to do whatever the hell she pleases…"

Cross let out a heavy sigh. "Kaito-kun..."

Kaito fixed the former hunter with a sharp glare. "She committed a _crime_ , Cross. She turned a human against their will. I don't care if she 'wasn't herself'. That's a bunch of crappy excuses." He unfolded his arms and pushed away from the tree, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his his jaw tightened as he continued, "She fucking _turned_ a human, and not just _any_ human. It's _Zero_ we're talking about, for fuck's sake!" His fists tightened. "We're supposed to take her into custody, but instead you're sending her off to live her merry life like nothing happened! Like she didn't do anything wrong!"

"You don't understand. She-"

"Oh, I understand," Kaito interrupted before Cross could finish. A mirthless smile stretched his lips. "Trust me, I do. You chose _vampires_ over your own kind. You chose _her_ over Zero, over _both_ of them." His features twisted into a distasteful expression, he let out a bitter chuckle, adding spitefully after a short pause, "No wonder they left. You have no right to be their guardian." He knew his words had hurt Cross, he could see it. But he didn't care about the man's pain. He _wanted_ it to hurt.

Unfortunately for Kaito, though, he had to stop at that. Courtesy of Yagari and his ever-perfect timing.

"Kaito, that's enough," the raven-haired man said gruffly as he approached the younger hunter. 

Kaito shrugged. "It's the truth. And you think the same thing anyway. There is no way you don't."

"Kaito…" Yagari's one good eye narrowed warningly, his brows drew together in a scowl.

A long, stubborn silence followed as the two hunters locked in a staring contest. Unsurprisingly, Yagari won.

Kaito looked away, running a frustrated hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh. "Do whatever you want," he said after a while as he regarded his companions once more. "I'm outta here." Walking past the two, he left without sparing either of them another glance. 

**-o-**

Kaname returned to his rooms in the Moon Dorms after sending his sister and inner circle away. He had decided it would be better for them to live in one of the Kuran Manors now that the academy was closed for an indefinite period of time and both vampire and hunter worlds were in turmoil. It was safer and no one would disturb them there. Kaname would have gone too — he knew he would after some time, but not yet, he wasn't quite ready just yet. He had to stay. Just in case. He wanted — needed — to stay and wait a little longer. And in the meantime...

"Are you sure this is the place?" Kaname asked as he looked up at Seiren after reading a report on her findings.

Seiren nodded. "Yes, Kaname-sama. With your permission, I will leave immediately to make contact with them."

"...No, I will go myself."

Seiren's eyes widened a fraction at the answer, but she quickly fixed her momentary slip and regained her usual impassive expression.

"Thank you, Seiren. You did well."

Seiren wanted to argue and offer her assistance, but she refrained from doing so, sensing her master's impatience to act, and only bowed deeply and excused herself instead.

Left alone, Kaname wasted no time turning into a huge flock of bats and leaving the premises of the academy in search of answers, which led him straight to the Kurenai residence.

The Kurenais were a small family of noble vampires that happened to be the only remaining relatives — albeit distant ones — of the Hiou clan. They were quiet and socially inactive, and preferred to keep to themselves. Maybe it was partially due to the fact that they weren't particularly powerful as a family of nobles. Maybe they had chosen their current lifestyle for the sake of their only daughter, Maria, who was said to be unusually sickly and fragile even for a common vampire, let alone one of her social standing. Maybe they simply preferred peace and quiet to endless scheming and power struggles of the true vampire world. Or maybe it was a bit of everything.

Kaname honestly didn't know, nor did he care much. Their views and reasons were irrelevant, and the Kurenais themselves were nothing more than a potential — and the only highly possible one — link to Shizuka in his eyes. He only hoped they would be useful and provide him with the information he needed willingly. Otherwise they would have to suffer the consequences of their disobedience. Kaname was in no mood to be lenient.

It didn't take the pureblood long to reach his destination.

The place he had arrived at was a pleasantly quiet and isolated one, surrounded by forest and mountains, away from humans and constant noise of their towns and cities — just the way pretty much every vampire preferred it.

Oddly enough, Kaname's presence didn't seem to come as a surprise to the Kurenai couple. They welcomed him to their house with polite graciousness, formal but not forced, restrained but genuine nonetheless. They made no attempt to lie or avoid answering his questions, too, and Kaname was genuinely taken aback by the lack of resistance. Curious, he asked the couple about the reason for their willing cooperation. The answer both baffled and perturbed him.

It was Shizuka. She had _instructed_ them to tell him what he wanted know, whatever it may be.

Obviously, she was expecting him. Which certainly didn't sit well with Kaname. It could be a trap, it could be a diversion, it could turn out to be a wild goose chase, it could be many other dangerous things — it could be anything, really. However…

Kaname still chose to take that risk and meet the pureblood woman. So he set off without delay.

Unsurprisingly, the next location turned out to be another secluded mansion many hours away from the Kurenai residence and even farther away from the Cross Academy. It appeared to be abandoned — it certainly _felt_ that way due to a distinct absence of presences of any kind.

Kaname wasn't convinced though. The place was _too_ quiet and empty, so much so it almost felt unnatural to him.

It was that which chased all doubt away.

_She was there._

Kaname wasted no time entering the building.

As expected, the mansion looked far from abandoned on the inside. It certainly wasn't permanently inhabited, if sheet-covered furniture was any indication, but it had been taken care of. Kaname guessed the servants tried to maintain its condition so that their only remaining master — or mistress in their case — could return at any time. He wondered absently if they knew she actually had.

After some while of careful exploration, Kaname finally found it — the room Shizuka was in. Its doors were wide open, and the woman herself was standing in the middle of the room facing them, facing _him_.

Kaname didn't hesitate to enter.

A smile slowly stretched Shizuka's lips as she broke the silence, "I didn't expect you so soon." She gave a small snort. "Then again, I suppose you must be rather desperate by now."

"Where is he?" Kaname cut to the chase.

"Not here. Surely you didn't think it would be so easy?"

He hadn't, certainly not. But a tiny, frustratingly pathetic and traitorous part of him still couldn't help but _hope_ foolishly.

Kaname breathed a quiet sigh before asking his next question, the one the answer to which probably interested him the most at the moment. "Is he alright?"

"He was still asleep when I left. But I hear that yes," Shizuka nodded, "he is."

Another sigh left Kaname, this one of undeniable relief.

Shizuka let out a soft chuckle. "How fascinatingly ironic."

Kaname frowned. "What is?"

"How much you have grown to care for someone you once regarded as nothing more than another one of your potential easily disposable pawns…" Shizuka's smile widened somewhat smugly, her expression turned condescending. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Kaname's fingers curled into fists at his sides. "Don't refer to him as that."

"But it's the truth."

"It's not."

" _Not anymore_ , you mean."

"It wasn't even then." Not completely, at least.

Shizuka snorted. "But of course it was," she disagreed. "I know it. _You_ know it, even if you don't want to admit it, and now… _he_ knows too…"

Kaname's heart skipped a beat, but he chose to ignore it and smother the apprehension he could feel begin to crawl over him. Frowning, he asked, "What?"

Shizuka's smile slowly morphed into a smirk. It deepened his unease, but Kaname made sure not to show it.

"Ichiru," Shizuka specified. "He knows what you _did_ that night."

Kaname froze, his eyes widened in terrible comprehension. For one dreadfully long moment, everything stilled.

"...He knows _how_ I broke free."

**-o-**

_"What the hell was that?" Ichiru asked after pulling away from Shizuka and wiping his mouth absently, his dazed eyes wide with confused disbelief and eyebrows furrowed in a frown._

_"My memories," came Shizuka's simple reply._

_Ichiru looked up at the pureblood. "Memories…?"_

_"Yes," Shizuka nodded. She came up to a window, her gaze turned distant. "Of everything."_

_"Was that what you wanted to show me?"_

_Another nod. "Yes."_

_Ichiru's frown deepened. "Why?"_

_"Because I cannot have you accept my proposition without knowing the whole truth."_

_Ichiru snorted. "How very considerate of you," he remarked sarcastically._

_Shizuka smiled faintly, snorting quietly. "It certainly is."_

_A long moment of silence passed._

_Then Ichiru asked, more seriously now, "How can I even be sure they are real?"_

_"Blood doesn't lie. You will learn to see it soon enough."_

_Another while of silence, a longer and more strained one this time._

_"…Was that-…" Ichiru started, but halted, trailing off. It took him a few moments to resume. "Was that really how you got out?"_

_Shizuka looked at the silver-haired teen over her shoulder, her smile grew. "Blood doesn't lie," she repeated, keeping her gaze locked with Ichiru's for a few seconds longer before turning to the window anew._

_Not a word was spoken after that._

_Ichiru stayed a while, pondering over a particular bit of information he had been given. Then, shaking his head with a sigh, he chose to let the matter rest for the time being and left the room to return to his twin's side._


	36. Revealed Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N:** And I'm back with another chapter. Actually a little earlier than expected this time as well. So hello again, dearests! *hugs everyone*_
> 
> _Sorry to say it's another boring chapter where pretty much nothing happens *sighs* It will probably turn out to be a disappointment, but I do hope you will somehow manage to enjoy at least some bits of it at least a tiny bit *bows deeply* I am truly sorry if you don't though *bows again*_
> 
> _As always, thank you — and I mean really and truly thank you — for still following this story, for your kudos and most of all, for your incredibly kind, inspiring comments. You may not realize it, but your support means the world to me, like it would to any other author. So, again, thank you *bows*_
> 
> _And the usual. Disclaimer, warnings and the rest remain the same. There are definitely mistakes here and there since English is not my first language, and those mistakes are all mine._
> 
> _Would be happy to hear your thoughts on this one as well._
> 
> _Hope you will be able to enjoy reading! :D_

Hiou Shizuka wasn't there.

She was nowhere in the mansion, nor anywhere near it, Zero was almost certain of it. He couldn't feel her presence no matter how hard he tried. Then again, he wasn't quite sure he could _completely_ trust his senses with the way they were right now, and he wanted to be certain. He wanted to know.

So he asked, "Where is she?"

The question made Ichiru slow down and turn to him.

"That woman," Zero elaborated without waiting for his twin to ask. "I can't feel her anywhere."

Ichiru let out a soft _'Oh'_ before nodding and replying, "Yeah, she left a while ago."

Zero blinked at the information, his brows rose a little before creasing into a small frown. "Why?"

Ichiru shrugged. "I didn't ask." 

"I see…" Zero trailed off, lowering his eyes thoughtfully and allowing Ichiru to guide him further inside the house. A small sigh escaped him, one of undeniable relief. He felt his form relax, only now realizing how tense it had been before. 

She wasn't there, that woman. He didn't have to face her. Not yet. 

He had been right all along, too. It didn't seem like his senses were off, after all, even if pretty much everything around him still felt…weird. And that included…

Zero looked up at his twin. "You feel different," he blurted out without really thinking.

He had noticed the change a little while after waking up, but hadn't said anything, thinking he had been imagining things. But that feeling hadn't disappeared — on the contrary, Zero perceived it more clearly now, and he couldn't help wondering about it.

Ichiru halted in his strides, turning to his counterpart again. Zero could tell from the expression on his twin's face that he had no idea what Zero was talking about. "Different how?" Ichiru asked, involuntarily tightening his hold on Zero's hand. 

Zero frowned, his gaze lowering thoughtfully as he tried to discern whatever it was his senses were trying to tell him. Unfortunately, it wasn't an easy task — either that or he was still a bit too out of it to be able to _think_ properly — and he only came up empty in the end.

A resigned sigh marked Zero's surrender. "I don't know," he finally answered, looking up at Ichiru anew. "I'm not sure. It's just… Your aura, it feels different. From before, I mean." He shrugged before repeating, "I don't know."

Ichiru involuntarily tensed up. "Does it bother you?" 

"I don't think so."

"What then?"

Zero gave a shrug. "It's just weird. Like you're not really you."

"Do you hate it?"

"I need to get used to it."

"You didn't answer my question."

The remark made Zero pause. He contemplated for a few moments before answering, "…I don't."

"But?" Ichiru prompted, knowing very well there was more to his twin's words.

"But I still need to get used to it," Zero voiced the same conclusion as before.

Ichiru squeezed Zero's hand in his tighter. "Is it that bad?"

"It's…" Zero paused to think, his eyes lowered briefly, clouding over, his frown returned. "Uh…a little overwhelming." To put it mildly. 'Suffocating' and 'oppressive' were actually more suitable words to describe the feeling Zero was getting, but he chose not to use those. He knew how it would affect Ichiru, and he didn't want to make his counterpart feel worse than Zero knew he already did.

Ichiru frowned. "You didn't say anything before."

"It wasn't like that before."

Ichiru blinked, his frown smoothing out. "Oh…I see…" he trailed off, looking away.

A long silence followed as the two remained standing still in the hallway.

After a while, Ichiru finally found it in himself to lock eyes with his twin anew. "Do you want me to leave?" he risked asking, mentally preparing himself for an unfavorable to him answer yet vehemently praying for it not to come. He didn't want to separate again, and certainly not after he had just gotten his brother back. But he didn't want to make Zero uncomfortable with his presence — mostly his _hunter_ presence, he supposed, as it was probably that which agitated his twin's newly awakened vampire side — either.

"What?" Zero asked with a frown. "No," he shook his head, "of course not. Why would you even think that?" he finished with a small, so familiar to Ichiru indulgent smile.

Ichiru felt his tense shoulders relax as he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Zero's smile widened a little as he added, "How can I get accustomed to it if you're not around, you idiot?"

A soft chuckle escaped the younger twin. "I guess you can't." His lips stretched into a slight smirk. "I will try my best not to stay away from you for too long then."

Zero arched an eyebrow. "Do you even need to try?"

Ichiru frowned, trying to sound offended as he replied, "You make it sound as though I'm some sort of a creepy stalker. Or worse, a clingy brat."

Zero gave his twin a skeptically amused look. "You seriously need to re-evaluate your priorities there. _And_ ," he added with a smirk, "those are _your_ words, not mine."

Ichiru huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "My priorities are just fine, thank you very much. _And_ ," he mimicked the way Zero had said the word before accusing with a pout, "you're a terrible older brother."

An amused chuckle escaped Zero. That side of his twin — the impossibly childish and spoiled one — never failed to lift his spirits. "I'm not," he denied in response. "Your standards are just way too high. _And_ ," he spoke in the same manner as before just to get on Ichiru's nerves, his smirk widening as he added, "you know it."

Ichiru shrugged. "I never said otherwise. I _am_ very hard to please," he replied with his own smirk back in place and thriving before he turned to continue making his way down the hallway.

Zero automatically followed. "Are you _bragging_ about it now?"

"Merely stating the truth," Ichiru responded with another shrug, then turned to his twin. "That's another good thing about me. I'm honest."

Zero snorted. "And awfully modest."

It was an enormous effort to keep a straight face, but Ichiru managed. He hadn't had _years_ of practice for nothing. "I know, right?" Even his voice sounded genuine, and Ichiru gave himself a mental nod of approval. "You don't get to meet someone like me often these days."

Zero gave another chuckle. "Yeah, you're definitely one of a kind."

Ichiru nodded, a pleased smile curving his lips. "Good to know you appreciate it."

"Not such a terrible older brother I am then, am I?"

Ichiru hummed, pretending to think. "You can do okay, I guess. _When_ you try hard like you're _supposed_ to." 

Zero immediately got reminded of one of their most ridiculous conversations not so long ago. "Because it's my so-called 'duty'?"

"Precisely," Ichiru confirmed without missing a beat.

Zero could only chuckle and shake his head at his counterpart's logic. "Had I known what I was signing up for, maybe I would have let _you_ go first and take a shot at being the older twin."

Ichiru laughed. "I seriously doubt you had any choice in the matter. But even if I _had_ outrun you in that race, I know I would have been _the_ best older brother one can ever dream of."

Zero gave an amused snort. "Yeah, and probably the most humble one, too."

Ichiru frowned, tilting his head slightly to the side as he asked, "What is it with you and your obsession with humility today? I'm not such a lost cause, you know."

"Says you."

"Which is more than enough."

Zero nodded. "And totally objective, I'm sure."

"I always am." All Ichiru got in response from Zero were silence and a skeptically arched eyebrow. "What? I have a problem with that too now?"

Zero feigned surprise. "So you're aware of that?" He nodded in mock approval. "Good, maybe you really _aren't_ a lost cause, after all."

"You're such a bully," Ichiru accused with a petulant pout, then turned away, huffing. "Keep being like that, and I'm totally firing you."

Zero gave his twin a look of amused bewilderment. "From what?"

"From the position of my big brother."

"I seriously doubt you have _any_ authority to do that," Zero remarked with a mocking snort. "I'm all you've got, so take it or leave it."

There was a short while of petulant silence, then came Ichiru's grumpy reply, "I'll take it."

Another snort from Zero followed the answer.

" _But_ ," Ichiru couldn't help adding, "you'll have to do better than that, starting right now."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning stop being an ass and give me back my loving brother."

"Can't take a few minutes of friendly teasing?"

"I have. And now those few minutes are up."

"But we've only just started."

Ichiru gave his counterpart an incredulous look, halting in his tracks. "There is _still_ more?"

Zero stopped as well, smirking. "What do you think?"

Ichiru grimaced apprehensively before replying, "I think we should just drop it and move on."

Zero feigned a pout. "Can't I have my fun once in a while?"

"You have. More than enough. Now let's drop it and move on."

Zero kept fake-pouting.

Ichiru held his ground, repeating more slowly, "Let's _drop it_ and _move on_." When that didn't work, he gave a resigned sigh and resorted to begging with his best pleading expression, "Please?"

Zero tortured his other half for a bit longer before finally taking pity on him. "Okay," he conceded with a soft chuckle. "Okay, just lose the puppy dog eyes. It's cheating."

"It's not," Ichiru denied, granting Zero's request. "It's my only weapon against you. I have the right to use it."

Ichiru's words drew another amused chuckle from Zero. They resumed walking again.

"Still unfair. That you have yours, but I don't have mine," Zero remarked next.

"It's not. You don't need one."

"How so?"

Ichiru shrugged. "Because I'm harmless."

That earned him a snort and a skeptical look from his twin.

"…To you," Ichiru added.

Zero nodded. "That's more like it."

They both laughed quietly before slowly lapsing into companionable silence. It lasted for some while, until they reached what Zero realized was apparently their destination.

"Kitchen?" Zero blinked, looking around a spacious room.

Ichiru nodded, "Mm. Thought you might be hungry."

Now that Ichiru mentioned it… "I am," Zero admitted. He was actually _starving_. It was a wonder he hadn't noticed before.

Ichiru's lips stretched into a smile. "Good. Let's make something then." It had been a while since they had cooked together, and Ichiru had missed spending time with Zero like that terribly.

"Mm," Zero nodded his consent as he stepped further into the room to explore it along with its contents. "And while we're at it, you might as well tell me how on earth we ended up here." Having found two aprons, Zero approached Ichiru and handed him one. "Deal?"

Accepting the offered piece of clothing, Ichiru reluctantly agreed with a nod, "Deal."

**-o-**

"What do you want with them?" Kaname asked a little while after Shizuka's last revelation had sunk in.

"Nothing much," Shizuka replied with an elegant shrug of her shoulders. "Only to keep them safe and strong."

Burgundy eyes narrowed distrustfully. "Why?"

"Because I care for them."

Kaname didn't answer, but his expression said it all.

Shizuka gave a soft chuckle. "It is the truth, whether you believe it or not."

"I don't," Kaname said bluntly. "What is the real reason for your sudden interest in them?"

"It isn't sudden. I have been watching them for years."

"Why?"

"I believe I have already told you as much."

"And I'm still not convinced."

Shizuka gave a small snort. "Of course you aren't. However..." She looked up at Kaname with a mirthless smile. "That is hardly my concern, is it?"

It happened in a split second. One moment Kaname was standing a safe distance away from Shizuka, and then the next he was already on the other side of the room, pressing the female pureblood into the nearest wall by the neck, his previous seemingly calm and collected facade completely gone, replaced by a dark scowl, burning red eyes and elongated fangs.

"Enough of this nonsense," Kaname growled dangerously, slowly tightening his now taloned fingers around Shizuka's neck. The woman did nothing to fight him off — she hadn't even when she had seen him lunge at her. "Give them back," Kaname demanded.

Shizuka remained unaffected by the very obvious threat in front of her. "Are you sure it's wise?" she asked, her mirthless smile widening slightly. "Right now I am the only one who can keep them out of harm's way, the only one _you_ can trust with them."

" _Trust_ you?" Kaname snorted. "Don't make me laugh. I could never trust someone like you." _Especially_ with Zero's life and safety. The woman _must_ be delusional to think otherwise.

"It seems to me you have no other choice though."

"I disagree."

Kaname's fingers tightened further, his hold turned outright suffocating. Shizuka's voiceconfirmed as much when she spoke next, "My death will solve nothing." But even so, the woman refused to back down. "You will only lose your one _true_ ally against _that man_." Her smile had long disappeared, replaced by an angry scowl at the mention of their common enemy.

Kaname gave a snort of contempt. His fingers around Shizuka's neck loosened a little. "So that is what this is all about? Your revenge on Rido?"

"Not _just_ mine. We both want him dead. _For good_."

That was true, and they both knew it, reluctant as Kaname was to acknowledge the fact even to himself.

"Is that why you kidnapped them? To use as leverage against me?"

"I didn't kidnap anyone," Shizuka disagreed. "I gave them a choice. They are free to leave whenever they want."

"Where _are_ they?"

Shizuka gave a small, wry smile. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

Kaname gritted his teeth, his hand tightening around the other's neck anew. "Then I will find the answer on my own." He turned Shizuka's head to the side with a jerk of his hand, exposing the woman's neck.

"I am a pureblood," Shizuka reminded in a surprisingly calm manner, not at all fazed by the fact that she was about to get — more than likely savagely — bitten. "You can try all you want, but you won't find anything."

"I will have to dig deeper then," Kaname whispered, inches away from his goal.

"…He has allied himself with the Shirabuki heiress."

The information made Kaname halt a breath away from Shizuka's neck.

"You need me, and you know it, young Kuran…" Shizuka trailed off before adding, "No…Kaname- _san_."

Kaname's eyes widened a fraction at the tone and the honorific the woman had used. He knew then. He knew that _she_ knew. She knew _who_ he really was. But even worse than that was the fact that she was _right_. He did need her.

"…Give them back," Kaname tried again after some time. "Give _him_ back."

A long silence passed.

"You can't protect him," Shizuka finally spoke again. "You couldn't before, you can't do it now, and you won't be able to." She turned her head to look at Kaname after he had leaned away. "If he is with you, _that man_ will find a way to get to him. You know it as well as I do."

"This time will be different," Kaname argued. "I will-"

"You couldn't protect him even from your so-called _sister_ ," Shizuka reminded him. "You had your chance. Now it's my turn."

Kaname knew he couldn't argue against the first part. He had failed way too many times to be able to redeem himself. _However_ …

" _Why_ would you want that?" He didn't trust her. He _couldn't_. He _wouldn't_.

Shizuka breathed a long sigh, lowering her gaze thoughtfully. She stayed silent for a long moment before looking up at Kaname anew and giving her answer, "You aren't the only pureblood who can care for them. And it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not," she added in response to Kaname's still very much doubtful expression. "That is the only answer you are going to get from me."

Kaname clenched his jaw in frustration. He refused to believe still.

But he knew _how_ he could make sure that Shizuka wouldn't be able to go back on her word.

"Swear it," he demanded. "Make a blood pact with me and swear not to do anything that would bring them harm." Kaname let a long moment of silence pass as he looked deep into Shizuka's pink eyes, searching, _assessing_. "That is my condition. Are you willing to take it?"

Shizuka didn't hesitate with her answer. "I am."

**-o-**

"She was always good at it," Rido spoke almost joyously, "that unruly former betrothed of mine."

An unimpressed eyebrow rose in response. "Good at what exactly?" came in a silky smooth, feminine voice of one Shirabuki Sara. It wasn't a question born of curiosity, but more of the knowledge that her companion was anticipating it.

Sure enough, Rido was pleased, if the widening of his lazy smirk was any indication. "At surprising me. In the most unpleasant yet amusing ways."

A while of silence passed. Then followed the reply. "You actually seem to be enjoying the situation..." Sara observed, still as unimpressed as before. "Despite your previous _dreadful_ failure."

"It wasn't a failure, just a minor bump in the road to my inevitable victory," Rido corrected the woman with an uncaring shrug. "But you're right, I _am_ enjoying the situation." His smirk widened further and he tilted his head to the side, adding, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Why _would_ you?" 

"Because it's fun."

Sara turned away, an impatient sigh escaping her. She shook her head lightly in disapproval, her long, silky blond curls following the movement, swaying subtly from side to side. "You're too careless."

"You're too much of a worrywart."

"It's called being smart."

"Tiring is what it is." Rido moved towards the victorian red velvet sofa the female pureblood was seated on, plopping down on it unceremoniously, yet somehow still managing to make the action look uncaringly graceful. "You really need to learn how to have fun once in a while."

The corners of Sara's mouth lifted slightly in a subtle smile. She gave a light snort before leaning forward and reaching for a porcelain teacup on a coffee table in front of her as she asked in response, "And who, pray tell, do I _need_ to learn it from?" Her lips curved further into a smile as she brought the cup to them, adding, " _You_?"

Rido shrugged. "Who else?"

Sara suppressed another snort, but she failed to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting some more. "I'll consider your offer…" she said after taking a sip of tea from her cup, "… _when_ you actually succeed."

Rido breathed a long sigh, shaking his head. "You're no fun at all." But even as he said that, his smirk remained firmly in place.

"And that is perfectly fine with me," Sara replied with an elegant shrug before taking another sip of her drink. "But that aside," she spoke again after a brief silence, returning her gaze to Rido, "I would rather you tell me about your next move."

"You mean _our_ next move?"

A blond eyebrow rose. "I thought I wasn't supposed to get involved yet."

"Slight change of plans," Rido explained. "We have a new player now, it's only to be expected that we adjust our game plan a bit, wouldn't you agree?"

Sara let out a soft hum of approval. "It's good to know you actually think before you act."

"I always do."

"It certainly doesn't look that way though."

Rido gave a chuckle. "I'm doing everything just right then."

Sara regarded the other with a sidelong look before turning away with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders and continuing to drink her tea.

"So," the woman spoke after another while of silence, turning her blue eyes to Rido once more, "what is _our_ next move?"

Rido's ever present smirk widened. "It would require blood. Quite a bit of it."

He couldn't wait to enter the next stage of their little game.

**-o-**

It took Zero a while to absorb everything Ichiru had told him. The things in his brother's story just seemed too surreal to be true.

He knew they were though. The truth. He didn't doubt it for a second — he had no reason to, too. But it was still hard to believe that so much had happened while he had been asleep.

The academy had been attacked and suddenly turned into a battlefield. By Kuran Rido and his allies that had included not only vampires of all levels, which would have been more than expected, but _hunters_ as well. And not just _any_ hunters, not just some _rogue_ hunters that had lost their way and switched sides for one reason or another, but the high-ranking, respected hunters of the Association, one of which had been the President himself.

Apparently, it had been an all-out war — enough to make even Cross forget about his retirement and pick up his long sheathed sword and fight. Zero was sure it must have been an intense battle that had caused some serious damage on both sides. Thankfully, though, Cross and Kaname's side had come out on top — Ichiru had told him that with absolute certainty. That had been a relief to hear, although it had done little to reduce Zero's urge to see for himself. 

Yuuki hadn't suddenly turned into a vampire, and a _pureblood_ at that — which was simply impossible. The latter, not the former.

Apparently, she had _always_ been one, she had been _born_ one, later sealed for her own safety and kept hidden for most of her life. And if that revelation hadn't been surprising enough, then the fact that she was also Kaname's _sister_ certainly had.

No one had known, save for Cross and Kaname himself, of course. _And_ , Zero mentally added as an afterthought, _Rido, evidently._ The man had known what he had been doing, Zero was sure. His actions, his words...everything that had transpired on that day, before _the bite_ , suggested so now. Rido _had_ known too, and he had acted on that knowledge. 

And as for Kaname and Cross...

Zero honestly thought Kaname couldn't be blamed for keeping that secret. As an older brother, Zero understood him — he _really_ did, more than anyone would ever know. Even Ichiru, as much as he disliked Kaname, seemed to share Zero's opinion, even if he would most likely never admit it.

And Cross...

Zero heaved a sigh.

He was still grateful to the man for everything he had done for them, and he always would be, but he couldn't say he didn't see where Ichiru was coming from. He got why his twin felt betrayed, and even why he thought he couldn't trust their guardian.

Ichiru's trust was a frighteningly fragile thing — hard to earn, easy to break, and almost impossible to regain after it had been lost. It had always been like that, and Zero doubted it would ever change. And now that Cross had lost that fragile trust put in him…it would take a ton of effort and a lot — _an awful lot_ — of time to get it back.

Zero almost felt sorry for the man. _Almost._ Because a part of him — an ugly, spiteful part of him that he knew but never wanted to admit existed — actually agreed with Ichiru and thought Cross deserved the outcome, terrible as he felt about it, ashamed as he was of himself for even thinking that.

But he did think that. That ugly little part of him did. The one that contained his own feelings of bitterness born of betrayed trust and hurt pride. The one that was angry about being kept in the dark for so long, about him and his brother being considered less important than someone else, even if he himself cared for that someone else deeply.

It was probably unfair of him to think that way, but he couldn't help it.

He knew they were strong, he and Ichiru, enough to be able to protect themselves from danger — in most cases, anyway. They had each other, too. But that didn't mean they didn't need someone who cared for both of them. A parent figure, a family, even if they weren't related to them by blood. They still needed someone to trust and lean on, and they couldn't help craving warmth and care from someone that _wasn't_ one of them. Ichiru would never _ever_ admit it, he would keep insisting they only needed each other, but Zero knew better than to buy it. Just like he knew that _Ichiru_ was the one who needed it _the most_.

He always had, he probably always would, and it couldn't be helped. And despite what Ichiru thought, there was nothing wrong with it, nor was it something to be ashamed of. It was only natural for a painfully insecure, rejected child — one that was still there even after all these years — to seek those things, consciously or otherwise.

Ichiru had. He had sought it from Cross, even if it hadn't been that obvious, if at all, to anyone other than Zero.

Zero was pretty sure he had done the same. He knew the need had been there, so he had most likely tried to fulfill it, although he had no idea how obvious he had been about it. He hoped he hadn't been that different from Ichiru though, as the alternative would be plain embarrassing.

Cross had been happy to provide them with all that. He had always been nothing but kind and caring and warm and generous. A little crazy — _more_ than a little, actually — most of the time, Zero admitted, but it didn't change anything. The man had given them everything he could. Maybe not absolutely everything they had probably needed, but he had done more than enough for them. There had been warmth, there had been care, there had been support and kindness and so much more.

Trust, however, didn't seem to have been one of those things now. And that made a part of Zero doubt the rest. Not strongly, only a little, but the seed of distrust had been sown.

Zero _could_ see why Cross had done what he had done. But try as he might, he couldn't relate to it.

It wasn't fair to his guardian, Zero realized that. It wasn't fair to think the way he did, to be able to find it in himself to understand Kaname, and not Cross. But that was the way he felt, and it rarely followed logic.

He couldn't say that Kaname's silence didn't hurt. It did, but Zero at least understood the reason for it. Had he and Ichiru ended up in that kind of situation, he would have done exactly the same thing for his little brother, and he would have done it without a moment's hesitation.

Cross's case was a different matter. _His_ silence hurt more. It affected not only Zero, but Ichiru as well. And it was much more difficult to let go.

Zero wanted to, he did, but that ugly little part of him wouldn't let him. It was stubborn and surprisingly hard to overpower, and incredibly frustrating in its persistence.

"…-san?"

Zero let out a heavier sigh.

He was such a biased hypocrite it almost made him feel sick.

"Nii-san?"

Zero blinked several times, startled out of his musings by his counterpart's voice. It sounded worried. Probably because Ichiru was. Worried, he meant. Zero realized it upon turning to look at his twin.

"Yeah?" the older of the two asked with another blink, now completely out of his daze.

A slight frown crossed Ichiru's brow for a moment. He allowed a short silence pass before asking, "You okay?"

Zero hesitated a moment. Then he gave a slow nod and confirmed, "I am." He tried to smile, even just a little, to make his words sound more believable, but he knew the attempt was weak at best. He felt it, and he could tell by Ichiru's still worried countenance — perhaps even more so than before.

Ichiru's frown returned, for longer this time. He pressed his lips together, obviously not quite convinced by his brother's answer.

Before he could pursue the matter, however, Zero corrected himself, "I _will_ be." He managed a genuine smile, and he sounded more sincere this time. Because he was. "So stop worrying about it."

Ichiru hesitated, but he still nodded his head in the end. "Okay."

The two lapsed into silence. It lasted for a while, until Zero interrupted it, but it wasn't Ichiru he spoke to.

"You can come out already," he said, looking over his shoulder at the partially open door. "You've been hiding there long enough." 

Ichiru looked over his shoulder as well, just in time to see Maria's head meekly peek around the door. He had thought he had sensed her sometime before not so far away, but he had chosen not to pay attention to her presence. It hadn't bothered him, it very rarely did, subtle as it was, so it had been easy to forget about it. He had assumed then that Maria would simply go away quietly like she tended to do, but apparently, he had assumed wrong.

"What are you doing here?" Ichiru asked, frowning at the girl.

Maria's fingers involuntarily curled around the edge of the door she was still partially hiding behind. She tensed, visibly nervous under Ichiru's stern gaze.

"Um, I…" she started, but faltered, looking down. "I just…" She pressed her lips together, growing more discouraged by the second.

Zero gave a long sigh after a while of silence. Half turning around, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

Maria looked up, taken aback, her eyes wide as she blinked rapidly at Zero.

Another silence passed with no answer — verbal or not — from Maria.

"Are you?" Zero prompted.

That startled the girl out of her short-lived daze. She still didn't say anything though, and only offered a meek nod in response.

"Come on in then," Zero said next, turning back to his task. "Take a seat. We're almost done."

Maria remained by the door, blinking confusedly at the back of Zero's head. She shifted her gaze to Ichiru for some kind of help or permission or protest or _anything_ , really, but he only gave an indifferent shrug and turned away as well.

She hesitated for another few seconds, then timidly stepped into the kitchen and sat down at a table.

"What's your name?" came after some time, startling the girl. Zero's amethyst eyes were on her again.

"M-Maria," she replied, involuntarily straightening her back. "Kurenai Maria."

Zero nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm Zero."

Maria nodded back, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I know," she replied, relaxing a bit. "It's nice to meet you, Zero-kun."

Another nod was Zero's only response before he turned away anew.

Maria smiled a little wider, breathing out as more of the tension seeped out of her body, making her feel much more at ease than before.

The silence returned then, and it lasted for longer, but it was a comfortable one this time.


	37. Established Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _ **A/N:** And I'm finally back again. A little later than I hoped and wanted to be, for which I'm sorry, but it couldn't be helped, I guess. I caught a nasty cold that lasted for over two weeks since I had to bear with it while still going to work and living my life as usual, and that got me sidetracked quite a bit._
> 
> _But anyway, now I'm back with another chapter, and I will also try to get back on track with my writing and updating schedule as well. No promises though, I've been getting lazy and depressed lately, not to mention tired and sleepy (guess it's the season and total lack of vitamins), so don't expect too much -_-;_
> 
> _And now to the matter at hand._
> 
> _Thank you all for your kudos and for each and every one of your wonderful, kind, encouraging comments! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them all *bows deeply* You're the best, dearests *hugs everyone*_
> 
> _As always, disclaimer, warnings and everything else remain. English is still not my first language, so there are still mistakes, and they are all mine. I do apologize in advance for them though *bows*_
> 
> _Hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter as well._
> 
> _And now… Please enjoy! :D_

Zero froze, as though pinned in place by thousands of needles. He felt biting coldness grip him, filling his insides and crawling up his skin. His heart raced, his breathing quickened, and for one impossibly long moment, his mind went completely blank.

…And then it all came back to him.

 _That_ night. Years ago. The images of Ichiru on the cold floor of their unnaturally, disturbingly quiet during those dark hours house, the feeling of his twin's frighteningly warm — feverish, _burning_ , really — unconscious form in Zero's arms as he held onto it as though it was his lifeline, the fear — _terror_ — of losing Ichiru, the desperation, the guilt, the shame, the regret… It all came back to him at once, and he suddenly felt as though he was back to being a child, reliving those events all over again.

And then another memory came back to him, it was brief and from a later time of that same night. It was one he kept trying to forget but never could — and _never would_ , he knew, the images were forever burned into his brain. It was one of his parents, the last he had seen of them before saying goodbye for good.

He had hesitated for a long time before going to see them. He hadn't been brave enough to face them in their death, so he had stayed with Ichiru right up to the moment of the other hunters' arrival and then even after that. In the end, however, he couldn't just leave. He had needed to see them. One last time, he had _needed_ to see them.

…And he had had to face what he had _let_ happen.

So he had.

He had left Ichiru's side and he had gone into the adjoining room where he had known his parents — their _bodies_ — had been supposed to be.

He hadn't been able to get close to them or stay there for long — the other hunters had hurried to lead him out of the room as soon as they had noticed him standing there by the door. He still had managed to catch a glimpse of them though, and that had been enough. The images of their lifeless bodies lying on the floor in the pools of their own blood would remain with him forever.

_He had caused it. He had let it happen._

He had been well aware of that even then, and that knowledge hadn't gone anywhere over the years — nowhere further than the back of his mind, at least. Same as the memories of that night.

And now it had returned. Everything, in an overwhelming flood. That one presence made it so. The one he had gotten acquainted with so long ago, the one that had kept resurfacing every now and again throughout the years, teetering just on the edge of his consciousness, the one that was bringing it all back now, closer than it had ever been. The presence of _that_ woman. Hiou Shizuka.

She was there, standing meters away, _right_ _in front of him_ , looking at him.

 _She hadn't changed,_ Zero thought absently to himself. He couldn't know for sure, of course. He couldn't even remember her face from their first and only encounter, after all. But he still could tell somehow. And it wasn't just her appearance, it was the very air around her as well. It all brought him back to that time, that day when he and Ichiru had first met her.

Unlike then, however, Zero's reaction to the woman was different. Very, very different.

The fear was still there, of course. He couldn't deny it. But it was almost completely pushed into the background by an overwhelming urge to attack, to _kill_.

Zero felt his fingers twitch, itching to grab a gun — most preferably his Bloody Rose — or a dagger or any other object that could be used as a weapon. His body involuntarily tensed up, ready and aching to lunge at Shizuka. He was almost sure he started to move to do just that at some point, but he never got close to the woman, stopped and kept in place by his twin.

Zero gave a start when he felt Ichiru's hand squeeze his tightly. He blinked, his eyes clearing as he came out of his short-lived daze. It was only then that time seemed to resume its normal flow and his surroundings came back to life. 

A shuddering breath escaped Zero.

Seconds ticked by. Silence stretched further.

They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, until…

Slowly, Zero let go of Ichiru's hand and took a small step backwards. Then two more. He waited a long moment. And then he turned around and fled the room. He ran and ran without looking where he was going, and before he knew it, he was outside in the snow. It was only then that he slowed down and eventually came to a stop.

It was cold, and he was underdressed for the weather again. The air he hastily breathed in burned his lungs, the wind scorched his skin. It didn't bother him though, not at the moment. He had gotten away from that presence, he didn't feel it as acutely anymore. It was still there, just at the edge of his awareness, but it wasn't as relentlessly _present_ there anymore. It was easier to bear now, enough for Zero to be able to breathe more properly again.

_Inhale. Exhale. Repeat._

His pulse calmed down, his breathing slowed down, his mind cleared. But the burning never left. It only shifted and concentrated in another region. His throat.

Zero's hand rose to touch his neck.

It had become fairly common for him lately, that burning. It had surfaced some time ago, getting either stronger or weaker every now and again, and it hadn't left since. It was starting to get annoying. And uncomfortable. And distracting. _And_ unsettling.

A part of him knew what it could be — what it _most likely_ was. That same part also knew what needed to be done to make it _stop_ , to make it _better_ , to make it _go away_ , at least temporarily. And it accepted it. _That part_ accepted it.

But there was also another one that didn't.

It was still in denial, and it refused to accept his new reality for what it was, _terrified_ of it, as well as of the very idea of doing what the other part of him knew needed to be done.

 _Just a bit more,_ it would say every time Zero thought he was about to give in. _He could still hold on for a little longer._ _He could still fight it._

He had. And he was doing it now too.

It was probably the strongest so far, that burning. But still…

 _'It's okay,'_ Zero told himself, _'I can take it.'_ It was still tolerable. _'I will.'_

He would, although he didn't know how much longer he would be able to put off the inevitable.

 **-o-**

Kaname drew a deep breath, then slowly released it as he closed his eyes and forced every muscle in his body to relax, all but melting into the satin-covered mattress of his bed. He cleared his head of every unnecessary thought and concentrated on a single image in his head. The image of the one person he wanted to find and see the most.

_Zero._

Kaname recalled the last he had seen of him; in his arms, living his last moments as a human.

_Zero._

He recalled the feeling of holding him like that, of seeing him like that, of feeding him his blood.

_Zero._

He recalled every other memory he had of his beloved, filling his mind with him and him alone, going deeper into the recesses of his consciousness and separating himself from the rest of the world. He called out to his blood, imploring it to answer, to guide and help him forge a link he needed to come into contact.

No response.

He tried again and waited.

Still nothing. He was met with silence again. Same as before, when he had tried the first few times.

Kaname concentrated harder and called louder, over and over.

There was nothing but silence on the other end for a while, until…

There was a responding tug, weak and uncertain and barely palpable, but it was still there. Kaname was sure of it, he hadn't just imagined it. So he focused on it and resumed his efforts.

He was getting closer. He could feel it.

Just a little more…and he would get it right.

**-o-**

Ichiru hadn't seen much of Shizuka since their last encounter upon the woman's return. Or rather, he hadn't seen her _at all_. It was weird, considering where they were, but Ichiru didn't mind. If anything, he was just fine with it, this arrangement where Shizuka stayed in the farthest part of the mansion suited him perfectly. Personally, he thought it was for the better, and if he were completely honest with himself, he could even say that he was actually grateful for the pureblood's decision. It was better that way.

Zero wasn't ready, and Ichiru doubted he would ever be. Unlike him, his twin hadn't wanted their parents to die. Unlike him, Zero regretted their parents' untimely demise. He always had, he still did, and he always _would_ no matter what. And unlike Ichiru, Zero certainly _wasn't_ okay with being in the immediate vicinity of their parents' direct murderer.

Ichiru fleetingly wondered if it would ever change, but he supposed he already knew the answer to that.

Shizuka wasn't too far away, but she wasn't that close either. The mansion was _huge_ , which allowed them to maintain a reasonable distance from each other. It wasn't perfect for Zero, but it was better than constantly seeing the woman. So now Ichiru just hoped that time would make it at least a little more bearable for his counterpart. It had to. Zero needed it. Especially so now, when he already seemed to be in more than enough pain as it was.

"Nii-san…" Ichiru started carefully as he entered their new room after lingering at the door for a short while of hesitation. "You need to feed," he said bluntly, choosing not to beat around the bush. They were long past that stage, and they couldn't afford to delay the matter any longer. It had been weeks since Zero's turning. It had been almost as long since the birth of his natural vampire thirst. It had been at least a week since that thirst had intensified and started getting unbearable. Ichiru knew, he could tell. Even with Zero doing his best to hide the signs and actually _mostly_ succeeding in it, Ichiru knew. He always did. He _always_ would.

There was a sharp intake of breath. Zero tensed up, his arms hugging his drawn up knees tighter. Without looking at Ichiru, he shook his head briefly.

Ichiru gave a heavy — and slightly exasperated — sigh. Shaking his head in disapproval, he pushed the door closed behind him and stepped further into the room. "Nii-san," he called again, frustration clear in his voice, fueled by worry. "It's pointless to fight it. Stop torturing yourself." He approached the bed and lowered himself onto it, close to Zero, but not enough to breach his personal space.

Still, Zero scooted back a bit, and Ichiru didn't miss it. He knew it was more than likely an unconscious reaction on his twin's part, but it still made him wince inside.

A long while of tense silence followed as Ichiru waited for the right moment to speak. Another sigh — a quieter one this time — escaped him.

"It's okay," Ichiru said softly, carefully, trying to sound as convincing as he only could. His lilac eyes were beseeching as he peered into his counterpart's face, but Zero still refused to meet his gaze. "You don't have to do this, nii-san." His hand rose slowly, just as careful as his tone, and landed on Zero's upper arm.

Zero gave a small flinch and inhaled sharply once more. Ichiru's initial involuntary reaction was to withdraw his hand, but he didn't. He forced it to stay, and Zero let it — he didn't pull back either. 

Ichiru felt it then. The tremors. The ones quietly racking his twin's form. The ones of fear and suppressed hunger and forcefully contained impulse to _attack_ and _tear into warm flesh_ and _maim_. Ichiru had noticed those tremors racking his counterpart's form before, now he could also feel them.

"…It's _okay_ ," Ichiru repeated after another while of silence, giving Zero's upper arm what he hoped served as a reassuring squeeze. "You don't need to hold back." He moved closer to kneel in front of Zero on the bed, his other hand going up to his twin's other arm. "I'm here, I can help." He paused, waiting for Zero to acknowledge his words.

After a torturously long moment, Zero did. He looked up, finally meeting Ichiru's gaze — hesitantly, almost cautiously.

Ichiru exhaled quietly, suppressing his involuntary reaction to the sight in front of him.

_The eyes._

The ones Ichiru knew and loved so much. The ones that he tended to seek comfort and reassurance from whenever he needed it.

_Burning eyes, completely overtaken by vivid red._

They were still the same, but not quite. And it wasn't just their temporarily changed color, it was the look in them. He had never seen his brother like that, had never thought he would. He might have entertained the idea once or twice, or even several times, simply out of idle curiosity and wandering mind, but he honestly hadn't thought he would get to see it. He had considered the worrisome possibility. It would have been unreasonable not to with a pureblood like Kuran Kaname permanently in their lives, secretly — not so secretly for Ichiru though, and not just for him, he was certain — pining for Zero since _years_ ago. So he had let himself consider the notion, but he had never allowed it to go any further than that. He hadn't thought a day when it would turn into reality would come.

But it had. And now Ichiru could see for himself just how accurate he had been in his conjectures.

Pretty close, but not quite. To Ichiru's mild surprise, the reality turned out to be better. And strangely exciting, to his secret shame. Ichiru was startled to feel a pleasant shiver of anticipation run up his spine at the sight of his counterpart in his current condition. He was shocked — if not a little scared — to find his body getting strangely hot with those familiar yet unfamiliar eyes on him.

_Vampire eyes._

Which Ichiru had seen plenty of in his life. Dozens, _hundreds_ of pairs. He _had_ been a hunter for quite a while, after all. But none of those eyes had ever affected him in any way, and certainly not like _this_.

It was terrifying, this unknown sensation, just as it was exhilarating.

Ichiru suppressed another shiver in favor of concentrating on the matter at hand.

He took a calming breath and then finally continued, "I _want_ to help. You know that, don't you?" He leaned forward a little, his hands involuntarily tightening on Zero's shoulders.

Zero exhaled a shuddering breath. His eyes flashed brighter, the hunger in them intensified, and so did the anguish. He was still doing his best to fight it, the thirst. The one Ichiru had gotten accustomed to years ago, the one Zero hadn't known before. The one they both knew couldn't be conquered.

Zero gave an absent nod in response to Ichiru's words. Before he knew it, he was reaching out for his brother, his arms moving to wrap Ichiru in an embrace. Before that could happen, however, Zero managed to return to his senses enough to stop himself.

He gave a start, freezing in place, suddenly lost and unable to move. Ichiru didn't let him stay that way for long though, slowly sliding his hands along Zero's arms before carefully guiding them around his neck the rest of the way.

"It's okay," Ichiru repeated yet again, his voice a mere whisper now — beguiling, soothing, _tempting_ almost. "Don't be scared, you won't hurt me. I will be okay," he continued persuading Zero as he got closer. "I promise."

Zero was shaking. He couldn't control his body's reaction anymore. He was barely holding back, Ichiru could tell. His burning eyes alone screamed of it — hungry, wild, intensely focused on Ichiru's neck and unable to look away from it.

Ichiru found himself experiencing another darkly delicious shiver, but he didn't bother trying to suppress it this time.

"I can take it," Ichiru promised. "You know I can, so there is no need for you to hesitate, nii-san."

Zero ducked his head as the distance between them kept shortening. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, a concentrated frown creasing his brow.

"Come on, you can do it."

Zero only shook his head in response.

"You can, I will help you," Ichiru continued, slowly guiding Zero's head to his neck, one hand stroking his twin's hair gently. "Just do it," he prompted. "Don't be afraid to take the first step."

Zero shook his head once more, still stubbornly, but less vehemently this time.

"It's okay." 

Same response.

"It's okay," Ichiru insisted yet again. "It will be okay…"

Ichiru continued repeating those words over and over, but Zero never acted on his urge. He only hugged his twin tighter and continued to fight the thirst, even as violent shudders kept racking his aching body. Eventually, the struggle got too much and Zero got too tired, and he fell asleep in Ichiru's arms.

With a heavy sigh, Ichiru carefully lowered Zero into a lying position and lay down beside him, soon falling asleep as well.

**-o-**

_The pain was gone. At long last, it was gone. At least so it seemed, because Zero couldn't feel it anymore. It was a welcome change, and it was a relief, but it was also frightening._

_Something wasn't quite right. He was aware of it, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was in a strange place where he couldn't feel anything, unable to tell whether he was asleep or awake. He settled for the latter though, somehow knowing it must be the case. It wouldn't have been so…_ quiet _and_ peaceful _otherwise._

_Zero wished he could stay like that longer, in that odd place and state. But he knew he couldn't, the awareness wouldn't allow him to. It always seemed to bring an end to any dream. He expected it to happen any second now, but it didn't even as time went on. Instead…_

_There was a shift in the space around him. A tug, a_ pull _. Weak at first, uncertain even. Zero had no idea what it was, but he was curious, albeit a little apprehensive at the same time. So he waited._

_He waited for it to come again._

_It did, more palpable this time, more insistent. Then again a moment later. Zero's curiosity grew, completely overshadowing his apprehension and quickly turning into something akin to excitement. He fleetingly wondered why that was so, but the thought was forgotten when another tug came._

_Unconsciously, Zero tried to respond. He tried to reach out towards whatever it was and give it a reciprocating tug, uncertain yet hopeful._

_The response was immediate, and before Zero knew it, he was unable to let go, suddenly seized by that_ something _. His initial reaction was panic, and it urged him to flee, to escape. He almost started to, but before he could completely withdraw, a painfully familiar voice paralyzed him._

_"Zero…"_

_Zero was sure his heart had skipped a beat at the soft utterance of his name in that voice he knew so well yet hadn't heard in what seemed like a torturously long while._

_"Zero-kun…" that same voice repeated in a more familiar manner, a little louder — closer — this time. It felt strange hearing it like that, so real yet only in his head, while its owner was nowhere in sight, nowhere near him._

_"Can you hear me, Zero-kun?"_

_Zero frowned. That just started to seem_ too _real,_ too _close,_ too _clear._

_"…Kaname…?"_

_He knew he missed the pureblood, but he hadn't realized it had been to the extent where his mind would come up with this illusion of hearing the man's voice in his dream._

_A breathless moment passed. Then…_

_"Zero-kun…"_

_The way his name had been spoken just then made Zero's pulse flutter. He couldn't see it, but he was sure there would have been a smile on Kaname's face had he really been there. He could hear it in that voice, that subdued gentle, relieved smile he loved seeing on Kaname's face._

_"I finally managed to reach you…"_

_"Reach me…?" Zero repeated, both confused and curious. "What do you mean, Kaname?" he asked, deeming there was no harm in humoring his mind or imagination or whatever the hell it was that was responsible for creating this weird dream._

_A soft chuckle sounded before Kaname replied, "Exactly what I said. I have been trying to get in touch with you for a while now."_

_"'Get in touch'…" Zero repeated absently, taking a little longer than usual to comprehend the words._

_Another chuckle came, one of fond amusement. Zero couldn't help smiling at the sound. He had missed hearing that one too, he realized. "You seem confused,"_ _Kaname said next._

_Zero nodded, "Mm. I am. This dream is really weird."_

_"This isn't a dream."_

_"Of course it is. I'm sleeping."_

_"I know. So am I." There was a short pause, then Kaname continued, "But it doesn't mean this isn't real."_

_Zero frowned thoughtfully, taking a few moments to absorb everything._

_"...Is this another one of your almighty-pureblood powers then...?" It was the only plausible explanation in this case._

_Kaname let out a quiet laugh. "You could say that, yes."_

_Zero took another moment before stating, "You're really something."_

_"Is it good or bad?"_

_"Good, I guess."_

_"You 'guess'?"_

_"Good," Zero said, more firmly this time. "But it's still freaky as hell."_

_Kaname gave an amused chuckle, apparently unoffended. "I know."_

_It did actually feel as though they were having one of their usual conversations. Zero was surprised how accurately his brain managed to portray Kaname, how_ real _— painfully so — it made these moments seem._

 _A sense of nostalgia overcame Zero then as he thought how nice it would have been to actually talk to Kaname, to see him, to simply_ be _in his presence — how warm and comfortable and just…_ nice _…it would have been._

_"…I still want it to be real though, freaky as it may be," Zero admitted a few moments later, somewhat sadly._

_"It is. Believe me when I say that it is, Zero-kun."_

_"Mm," Zero nodded, albeit he still wasn't quite certain that he was fully convinced._

_Kaname must have picked up on it, judging by his next words, "I promise you it is. Trust me."_

_A small smile graced Zero's lips. "Okay," he replied after a moment of silence with another nod, his tone holding much more conviction this time._

_Kaname waited another short while of silence before speaking anew, "How are you, Zero-kun? How have you been faring?"_

_"I…don't really know…" Zero really didn't — somehow the question itself seemed unreasonably difficult to process, let alone actually answer. "It feels...weird..."_

_'Wrong' was probably more suitable a word, but Zero didn't want to say it. Somehow it didn't feel right to put it that way._

_"Being...one of you guys, I mean…" He still had difficulty using the word 'vampire' when referring to himself. He knew that was what he had become, what he was considered now, he realized it, but he still couldn't say the word. That felt wrong, too._

_"I imagine it should," Kaname replied in a sympathetic tone that changed to a painfully sad one as he continued after a brief pause, "I'm sorry, Zero-kun. I really am."_

_Zero frowned, almost exasperated with Kaname for his stupid habit of eagerly taking all the responsibility for something he had no control over. "You don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault."_

_Kaname didn't answer._

_"It really wasn't," Zero insisted. "You know that, don't you?"_

_Still no answer. Zero let a while of silence pass, hoping to get a response, but it never came. With a resigned sigh, he tried again, in a gentler tone, "You can't save everyone, Kaname. I know you want to be able to, but you really can't._ No one _can." His lips curved in a wry little smile as he added somewhat playfully, "Not even an almighty pureblood vampire prince like yourself."_

_Kaname remained silent still. Zero almost started to think it wouldn't change, but then the pureblood's familiar voice returned._

_"I don't want to save everyone, Zero-kun. I never did," Kaname confessed. "I only wanted to save_ you _."_

_Zero's heart skipped a beat at that, then it quickened._

_Meanwhile Kaname continued, "But I couldn't. And for that I am truly sorry."_

_Zero had to take a few seconds before responding, "But I'm okay now." Maybe not quite, but almost. He hoped to get there someday, and he believed he would, even if he didn't know when and how exactly it would happen. And until then…he hoped he could be forgiven for this little half-lie of his. "So don't worry. And don't be sad, Kaname." Zero had wanted to tell the pureblood that for a long time, and he was glad to have been finally able to do it._

_Kaname gave a wry chuckle. "You always manage to present me with the most difficult tasks."_

_"That's because you leave me no choice."_

_"Is that a fact?"_

_"For sure."_

_Another chuckle sounded, an amused one this time. It made Zero smile. "My bad then," Kaname apologized, only half-serious, if even that. "I ought to know better."_

_The silence that followed after that was a nice and comfortable one. Kaname's next words, however, changed the atmosphere._

_"Come back, Zero-kun," Kaname said in a graver tone. "Come back to the academy, to-" he broke off, continuing a few moments later in a more subdued manner, "…to where you belong."_

_For a long while, Zero didn't respond. He couldn't, because he knew he wouldn't be able to give Kaname the answer he knew the pureblood wanted — even if not necessarily hoped — to hear._

_They both knew it. And they both knew Zero's answer._

_"I can't," Zero said after some time. "I want to, but I can't. Not yet."_

_A suffocating silence ensued, lasting for what felt like a small eternity, then came a sigh, and then…_

_"I understand," Kaname replied at long last, filling the silence for a second that passed way too quickly._

_Zero knew Kaname really did understand, but he also knew that the pureblood still disagreed, even if he didn't voice it._

_"I will contact you again. Take care, Zero-kun."_

_And then Kaname was gone and the link was cut._

Zero woke up.

**-o-**

It was even more unbearable than before. The thirst. It was burning, scorching, _scratching_ and _clawing_ at his insides, twisting them every which way it could. It was angry and ruthless, it _demanded_ to be sated, and it _refused_ to take no for an answer.

Zero stubbornly tried to fight it some more, but the struggle didn't last long.

It happened in a blink. Quite literally so. One moment Zero was lying on his side staring at Ichiru's sleeping face, and the next he was already hovering over his twin on all fours, closing in on his throat with purpose.

Somewhere in the back of Zero's mind, there was a voice screaming at him, _imploring_ his body to stop what it was doing, what it wanted to do, what it was _about_ to do. It was too quiet though, that voice, and it only kept getting quieter and quieter, farther and farther away as precious seconds passed by. It held no power, and it couldn't control him and his actions, much as Zero would have liked it to be otherwise.

It was a strange experience, being a spectator inside his own body. Strange and terrifying in the way it made him lose all sense and command over his own self while still keeping him connected to it. He was aware of everything that was going on. He could feel it all — every small motion of his body, every dangerously smooth touch his fingers initiated, every discreet intake of breath that teased his senses with a disturbingly compelling scent of skin-covered blood. He could see himself getting closer to the source — he could feel it, too. He knew what was going to happen next, but he was powerless to stop it.

The first taste of pale skin burned his tongue yet made the resistance that much more impossible.

The second taste made his elongated, so foreign to him fangs throb unbearably.

The third taste pushed him over the edge, and before Zero knew it, he pierced someone's — _Ichiru's_ , he reminded himself, surprised to find some sort of comfort in the knowledge — neck for the first time.

For a long moment, everything froze, including Zero himself. Then there was a burst of flavor in his mouth as sweet, warm blood filled it, soothing its parched surfaces before sliding down his painfully dry throat.

One draw. Two. Three. Four… Then his mind got too hazed by the overwhelming taste, and he stopped counting. Eventually the draws he was taking got slower, turning from rapid and frantic to more even and relatively unhurried ones. He was savoring it now, the taste, the texture. The realization of it was as terrifying as it was shameful, but even that wasn't enough to make Zero stop and pull away.

But the fear for Ichiru's life was.

Mustering up every bit of his willpower, Zero forced himself to slow down further and then stop altogether. Having gulped down the last small draws of the pleasantly warm, irresistibly delicious crimson liquid, he prepared to withdraw completely.

He didn't do it though, because Ichiru didn't let him.

"It's okay," Ichiru spoke softly, his voice a mere whisper against Zero's skin. Zero gave a start at the sound, blinking his eyes open. Ichiru's hand was suddenly on his nape, slowly moving up to the back of his head, his fingers threading through his hair gently. The touch sent an involuntary shiver down Zero's spine. "You can drink some more, I don't mind," Ichiru encouraged, stroking Zero's head soothingly. "I want you to."

For a long moment, Zero hesitated, uncertain, afraid, confused, _overwhelmed_ and…still _hungry_.

And Ichiru kept encouraging him, repeating that it was okay, that it _would_ be okay and that he didn't have to hold back or be afraid or fight it anymore. He kept urging him to _let go_ and let him help _chase away the pain_.

At those moments, the temptation just seemed too great.

So Zero gave in once more. His eyes slid shut anew and he complied with Ichiru's suggestion.


End file.
